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RECOLLECTIONS. 



BY 



GEORGE W. CHILDS. 



' So runs the round of life from hour to hour." 

Tennyson. 




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PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 
1890. 






Copyright, 1890, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 



<lll feTEREOTYPERSANDPRlNTER5*Hl l- 



RECOLLECTIONS. 



THE STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 

MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN. 



THE MEMORIAL WINDOWS TO 

HERBERT, COWPER, AND MII/TON. 



THE ANDREWES AND KEN 

REREDOS. 



I 



THE PRINTERS' BANQUET. 



PKEFAOE. 



"When Mr. Childs consented, with un- 
feigned reluctance, to tell the story of his 
tranquil life, he was not at all persuaded of 
the propriety of sitting down before the 
public and chatting familiarly of himself 
and his friends. He had been asked to do 
this many times before, but neither the 
persistent importunity of enterprising pub- 
lishers, nor, of course, the tender of gold, 
could move him. Finally the temptation 
to do a friendly act overcame his scruples, 
and the readers of Lippincott's Magazine were 
given the series of four entertaining papers * 
embodied in the present volume. However 
stubborn the resistance of Mr. Childs may 
have been, and whatever doubts he may 
have entertained as to the wisdom of the 



* Published in the issues of June, July, August, and 
September, 1889. 

1* 5 



6 In Explanation. 

undertaking, he could not have been other 
than deeply gratified by the flattering recep- 
tion of his Recollections by press and people. 
Perhaps no magazine articles of the year — 
certainly none of the multitudinous volumes 
of reminiscences — were so loudly heralded, 
so extensively quoted, so unanimously ap- 
proved. Extracts are still current in the 
country papers ; rare and cordial words of 
appreciation still come from the four quar- 
ters of the world. Sir Edwin Arnold was 
kind enough* to say that he had read the 
personal memoirs of Mr. Childs with profit 
and pleasure ; and General Sherman avowed 
that they would have " fifty times their 
value fifty years hence.' 5 Without exception 
known to me, the newspapers of this coun- 
try and England extolled the interest of the 
articles, the Boston Herald* saying that 
" Mr. Childs's recollections are so good that 
he ought to publish everything he knows 
about Grant;" and the Chicago Newsf 
urging that " when these reminiscences are 
concluded they should be published in book 
form," making this suggestion, as it went 
on to say, " in behalf of the very many who 
wish to preserve Mr. Childs's interesting 

* July 17, 1889. f August 8, 1889. 



In Explanation. 7 

and valuable contributions in a convenient 
and handsome shape." 

The suggestion had been made before; 
it was made repeatedly, and by many whose 
disinterested and critical judgment had 
naturally so much weight with Mr. Childs 
that this book is the happy result. To the 
text of the four original papers have been 
added the story of the Memorial to Shake- 
speare at Stratford-upon-Avon; an account 
of the Window in Westminster Abbey to the 
memory of the Christian poets Herbert and 
Cowper; the Window commemorative of 
the virtues and genius of the poet Milton, in 
St. Margaret's Church, Westminster; and of 
the Reredos erected in St. Thomas's Church, 
Winchester, England, as a memorial to 
Bishop Ken of that ancient cathedral city; 
together with a sketch of the celebration of 
the birthday of Mr. Childs by the printers 
of Philadelphia, with an introduction by 
Professor Richard T. Ely, of Johns Hopkins 
University. 

Melville Philips. 



RECOLLECTIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 

A HOST OF MEMORIES. 

Early Life — Publishing Experiences — Purchase of the 
Ledger — Irving, Hawthorne, Lowell, Holmes — Dis- 
tinguished Guests. 

I want to set out by saying that I am sure 
you in kindness exaggerate the interest the 
world takes in me and my affairs. You say 
I am a successful man. Perhaps I am ; and 
if so, I owe my success to industry, temper- 
ance, and frugality. I suppose I had always 
a rather remarkable aptitude for business. 
James Parton, at any rate, was right in 
speaking of me in his biographical sketch 
as " bartering at school my boyish treasures, 
— knives for pigeons, marbles for pop-guns, 
a bird-cage for a book." 

I was self-supporting at a very early age. 

9 



10 Recollections. , 

In my twelfth year, when school was dis- 
missed for the summer, I took the place of 
errand-boy in a book-store in Baltimore, at 
a salary of two dollars a week, and spent 
the vacation in hard work. And I enjoyed 
it. I have never been out of employment ; 
always found something to do, and was 
ahwavs ea^er to do it, and think I earned 
every cent of my first money. When first 
at work in Philadelphia I would get up very 
early in the morning, go down to the store, 
and w r ash the pavement and put things in 
order before breakfast, and in the winter- 
time would make the fire and sweep out the 
store. In the same spirit, when books were 
bought at night at auction, I would early 
the next morning go for them with a wheel- 
barrow. And I have never outgrown this 
wholesome habit of doing things directly 
and in order. I would to-day as lief carry a 
bundle up Chestnut Street from the Ledger 
office as I would then. As a matter of fact, I 
carry bundles very often. But I understand 
that certain young men of the period would 
scorn to do as much. 

At the as;e of thirteen I entered the 
United States navy, and passed fifteen 
months at Norfolk; but I didn't like it. 
Returning to Baltimore, I attended school 



A Host of Memories. 11 

for a time. Then I came to Philadelphia, 
and entered a book-store kept by Mr. 
Thomson at the corner of Sixth and Arch 
Streets. I was both clerk and errand-boy, 
worked from early in the morning until late 
at night, and received a salary of three 
dollars a w r eek. Gradually I began to at- 
tend the evening auctions, which at that 
time were frequently held in this city; I 
became familiar with the titles and prices 
of valuable books, and was soon able to buy 
them cheaply. In this way I assisted. Mr. 
Thomson for four years ; his business kept 
increasing; and at length he sent me to 
represent him at the book-trade sales held 
every six months in New York and Boston. 
Here, of course, I made the acquaintance of 
many book-buyers and publishers, — excel- 
lent men, whom I have never forgotten, and 
who, I am glad to say, have not forgotten 
me. Those still living often visit me, and 
whenever they do the old life and the old 
faces are very vivid in my memory, — the 
Harpers, Lippincotts, Putnams, Ticknors, 
Fields, Appletons, Little & Browns. 

I had saved enough money when about 
eighteen years old to go into business for 
myself; so I set up a modest store in a 
small room in the old Public Ledger build- 



1 2 Recollections. 

ing. It was a success : I made money 
slowly but surely. .Meanwhile, it is said of 
me that I aspired to higher things; that I 
was even heard to say, " I shall yet be the 
owner of the Public Ledger." If this is true, 
and doubtless it is, I do not seem to have 
overreached myself at that early age. 

I was twenty-one years old when I entered 
into the book-publishing business under the 
firm name of R. E. Peterson & Co., after- 
wards Childs & Peterson. One of our first 
books, Dr. Kane's " Arctic Explorations," 
was a great hit. It did not look at first as 
though we had made a wise venture. "When 
the work was ready to be issued, I took a 
sample copy and went over to New York to 
solicit orders from the leading booksellers. 
The largest house would only give me a 
small order. " Mr. Childs," they said, " you 
won't sell more than a thousand altogether." 
They ordered at first only one hundred 
copies, but soon after sent for five thousand 
more to meet the demand. Within one 
year after the publication we paid Dr. Kane 
a copyright of nearly seventy thousand 
dollars. It was the Doctor's original inten- 
tion to write only a scientific account of the 
expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, 
but I persuaded him to make of it the popu- 



A Host of Memories. 13 

lar narrative he did, and he afterwards ad- 
mitted to me that I was right in my sugges- 
tion. When the manuscript was finished 
he sent me a pathetic note, in which he said, 
" Here you have the book complete, and, 
poor as it is, it has been my coffin/' No 
doubt he had then some premonition of the 
beginning of the end of his remarkable 
career. He died in Cuba within a year 
after receiving his copyright money; and 
doubtless many people remember well the 
splendid tribute arranged for him : that 
funeral was one of the most remarkable in 
history. 

We made another hit with Parson Brown- 
low's book, of which fifty thousand copies 
were ordered in advance of publication. 
Other successful works issued by us were 
" Peterson's Familiar Science," of which a 
quarter of a million copies have been sold ; 
Bouvier's Law Dictionary ; Sharswood's 
Blackstone; and Dr. Allibone's great " Dic- 
tionary of British and American Authors." 
It cost over sixty thousand dollars to publish 
this last-named important book in its three 
large volumes, and a great deal of the credit 
for the successful completion of the under- 
taking is due to the enterprise of the late 
J. B. Lippincott, w 7 ho brought out the last 
2 



14 Recollections. 

two volumes upon my retirement from the 
book-publishing business in 1868. 

The following year I purchased the Public 
Ledger. And I want to say just here that 
much of the success of the paper has been 
due to the cordial and intelligent co-opera- 
tion of my friend, A. J. Drexel. 

The war, by greatly increasing the cost 
of labor and material, chiefly the white 
paper, had made it impossible to continue, 
save at a loss, the publication of the Ledger 
as a penny paper. It had been sold at a 
cent ever since it was started in 1836, and 
Messrs. Swain & Abel], then the proprietors, 
though they had lost over one hundred 
thousand dollars by keeping the rate at " six 
and a quarter cents per week," were averse 
to a change. There they made their great 
mistake. They seemed to regard the past 
prosperity of the Ledger as due alone to its 
selling for a penny. They forgot that in 
1864 the purchasing power of a penny was 
not what it was before the war. Cheapness, 
indeed, was a vital feature of the journal; 
but to sell the Public Ledger for a penny was 
to give it half away. Thus the proprietors, 
unable to agree to increase the price of the 
paper or the rates of advertising, determined 
to dispose of their property. The Ledger 



A Host of Memories. 15 

was for sale, and I bought it — the whole of 
it, just as it was — for a sum slightly in ex- 
cess of the amount of its annual loss. 

It was not generally known, of course, 
that the establishment was then losing about 
four hundred and eighty dollars upon every 
number of the paper which it issued. To 
all appearances it was as prosperous as ever ; 
the circulation was great, the columns were 
crowded with advertisements. Yet, as a 
matter of fact, there was a weekly loss of 
three thousand dollars, or a hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars a year. 

The Ledger was purchased on the 3d of 
December, 1864. A week later I announced 
two simple but radical changes. I doubled 
the price of the paper and advanced the 
advertising rates to a profitable figure. Of 
course there was an instant and not incon- 
siderable falling oft* of patronage. But the 
Ledger was already an " institution" of the 
city : for twenty years it had been the estab- 
lished medium of communication between 
employers and employed, between buyers 
and sellers, landlords and tenants, bereaved 
families and their friends. To very many 
people it was a necessity. So, although at 
first I lost some subscribers and advertisers, 
they were soon won back again. At the 



1 6 Recollections. 

end of a month the price of the Ledger was 
reduced from twelve to ten cents a week, 
and from that day to this the circulation and 
advertising have increased. 

I worked hard to make the paper a suc- 
cess; for several years I seldom left the ed- 
itorial rooms before midnight, averaging 
from twelve to fourteen hours a day at the 
office. I strove to elevate its tone, and think 
I succeeded. If asked what I mean by this, 
perhaps I had better quote the friendly 
words of the late Rev. Dr. Prime : " Mr. 
Childs excluded from the paper all details 
of disgusting crime; all reports of such vice 
as may not be with propriety read aloud in 
the family; that poison the minds of young 
men, inflame the passions and corrupt the 
heart; all scandal and slang, and that whole 
class of news which constitutes the staple 
of many daily papers. The same rule was 
applied to the advertising columns, and 
from them was excluded all that, in any 
shape or form, might be offensive to good 
morals. The friends of the new publisher 
predicted an early and total failure, and the 
more speedy because he doubled the price 
of the paper and increased the rates of 
advertising. But he was governed in his 
course by two considerations : first, he had 



A Host of Memories. 17 

his own strong convictions of what is right, 
and, secondly, as strong convictions of what 
would pay; and it has been well said that 
when one's views of duty coincide with his 
pecuniary interests, all the faculties work 
in perfect harmony. The effect of this sud- 
den change was at first to sink the sinking 
concern still lower. A class of readers and 
advertisers fell off". A less conscientious 
and a less courageous man would have stag- 
gered in the path he had marked out. Not 
so with Mr. Childs. He employed the best 
talent, and paid fair wages for good work. 
He published six days in the week only, and 
on the seventh day he rested from his labors. 
His paper and his principles began to obtain 
recognition in the city. He made it a family 
journal. It gained the confidence of the 
best people, who became its daily readers, 
and therefore it was sought as the best 
medium of advertising.' 5 It is not for me 
to add to or comment upon these compli- 
mentary words. On the 20th of June, 1867, 
the present Ledger building was completed 
and formally opened. The ceremonies were 
followed by a banquet attended by many 
distinguished men from different parts of 
the country. 

I look back with genuine pleasure upon 
b 2* 



18 Recollections. 

my experiences as a publisher. I was more 
than prosperous in acquiring the friendship 
of so many worthy men among the pub- 
lishers, booksellers, and authors with whom 
I came in contact. If I were to enumerate 
them, their names would fill a page of Lip- 
pincott's Magazine. 

I can recall, as though it were yesterday, 
a solemn conversation in the office of the 
Harpers, then on Cliff Street. The four 
founders of the great firm were present. 
I was one of a group of Philadelphians, 
and we were discussing the first number of 
Harper's New Monthly Magazine. It seemed 
so certain to us that the publication would 
be a failure. " It can't," said one Phila- 
delphian, emphatically, — " it can't last very 
long." The only successful magazines then 
published in the United States were those 
issued in Philadelphia, — Graham's, Godey's, 
Sartain's, and Peterson's. 

I have personally known and corresponded 
with Longfellow, Emerson, Lowell, Holmes, 
Whittier, John Lothrop Motley, William 
Cullen Bryant, George Bancroft, W. H. 
Prescott, Fitz-Greene Halleck, Nathaniel 
Hawthorne, Washington Irving, and a score 
of other writers who have given us an Amer- 
ican literature. 



A Host of Memories. 19 

Washington Irving I remember well. His 
was not a face one readily forgot. A kindly 
humorous man, of big brain and heart. I 
visited him several times at " Sunnyside :" 
he would go to sleep at dinner, but his 
guests understood his physical weakness and 
respected it. He was a very sensitive and 
nervous man. I saw his desk piled up with 
papers, the last time I was there, and re- 
marked that he seemed to have a heavy mail. 
It was shortly after the publication of the 
first volume of his Life of Washington. 
" Yes," he said, " I haven't the courage to 
look at it. I'm afraid to learn what the 
critics are saying of my book." 

Hawthorne was another sensitive man 
and extremely shy. The last time we met 
was under very distressing circumstances. 
He was travelling South for the benefit of 
his health, accompanied by his friend W. D. 
Ticknor, the publisher. They stopped at 
the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia, and 
both came clown to the Ledger office to call 
on me. They were in excellent spirits ; and 
that was on Friday. It was agreed that they 
should attend a party to be given the next 
evening by Mr. Joseph Harrison. These 
Saturday evening parties were then a feature 
of social life in Philadelphia. Neither 



20 Recollections. 

Ticknor nor Hawthorne came, greatly to 
our disappointment. As no explanation of 
their absence was sent me, I called on Sun- 
day morning at the hotel and went directly 
to their rooms. I knocked on the door, and 
receiving no answer, opened it and walked 
in. There I found Hawthorne pacing up 
and down the room, apparently dazed. 

"Hawthorne," I said, "how are you? 
Where is Ticknor?" 

" They have taken him away," said he. 

" What do you mean ?" I asked. " I don't 
understand you." 

" Well," he said, " it is too bad. He was 
my best friend ; I depended on him ; and he 
came here to please me." 

I could make nothing out of it at all : he 
seemed to me bewildered. I feared for his 
mind, and, going down to the office, asked 
the clerk, Mr. Duffy, what it all meant. He 
then staggered me with the information that 
Ticknor had died that morning. 

" Where is his body ?" I asked. 

" It was taken early this morning to the 
undertaker's," he said. 

I was astounded, but, hastening back to 
Hawthorne, comforted him as much as I 
could, implored him to keep quiet, and at 
last succeeded somewhat in calming him. 



A Host of Memories. 2 L 

I then went to the undertaker's, took charge 
of Ticknor's body, saw that it was properly 
cared for and embalmed, and telegraphed 
to his partner, my old friend James T. 
Fields. One of Ticknor's sons at once came 
on to Philadelphia and took his father's 
remains to Boston. 

It was a deplorable and distressing event ; 
a fatal journey. Hawthorne lingered here 
in Philadelphia with me for a few days, and 
then I placed him in the keeping of the 
good Bishop Howe, of Pennsylvania, a com- 
mon friend, who accompanied him to Boston. 
There he passed the night with James T.. 
Fields, who says that they sat up late talking 
about Ticknor, and that Hawthorne was in 
a very excited and nervous state, recalling 
incessantly the sad scenes he had been pass- 
ing through in Philadelphia. In the morn- 
ing he returned to his old home in Concord, 
and shortly after he died at Plymouth, New 
Hampshire, whither he had gone under the 
charge of his life-long friend, Ex-President 
Franklin Pierce. 

I have still in my possession the touching 
letter written by President Pierce to Mr. 
Fields in which he describes the peaceful 
death of Hawthorne. It was plainly penned 
under the greatest excitement and distress 



22 Recollections. 

of mind. It contained a note announcing 
to Mrs. Hawthorne her bereavement, and 
was carried to Mr. Fields by Colonel Hib- 
bard. " Oh, how will she bear this shock?" 
the note says. " Dear mother ! dear chil- 
dren ! When I met Hawthorne at Boston a 
week ago, it was apparent that he was much 
more feeble and more seriously diseased than 
I had supposed him to be. We came from 
Senter Harbor yesterday afternoon, and I 
thought he was, on the whole, brighter than 
he was the day before. He retired last 
night soon after nine o'clock, and soon fell 
into a quiet slumber. In less than half an 
hour he changed his position, but continued 
to sleep. I left the door open between his 
bedroom and mine, our beds being opposite 
to each other. I was asleep myself before 
eleven o'clock. The light continued to burn 
in my room. At two o'clock I went to H.'s 
bedside. He was apparently in a sound 
sleep. I did not place my hand upon him. 
At four o'clock I went into his room again, 
and, as his position was unchanged, I placed 
my hand upon him, and found that life was 
extinct. I sent immediately for a physician, 
and called Judge Bell and Colonel Hibbard, 
who occupied rooms upon the same floor 
and near me. He lies upon his side, his 



A 'Host of Memories. 23 

position so perfectly natural and easy, his 
eyes closed, that it is difficult to realize, 
while looking upon his noble face, that this 
is death. He must have passed froni natural 
slumber to that from which there is no wak- 
ing, without the slighest movement. I can- 
not write to dear Mrs. Hawthorne, and you 
must exercise your judgment with regard to 
sending this and the unfinished note enclosed 
to her." 

It was a beautiful death, but a sad event. 
Hawthorne I shall always hold vividly in 
remembrance. I have the original manu- 
script of his " Consular Experiences," and 
the copy of the first edition of the " Scarlet 
Letter," brought to light so wonderfully by 
Mr. Fields. Hawthorne wrote me, soon 
after its publication in 1851, that he was 
much gratified by my favorable opinion of 
the charming romance, and that I might 
be interested to know " that it was so far 
founded on fact that such a symbol as the 
Scarlet Letter was actually worn by at least 
one woman in the early times of New Eng- 
land." Whether this personage, he added, 
resembled Hester Prynne in any other 
circumstances of her character, he could 
not say; nor whether this mode of igno- 
minious punishment was brought from be- 



24 Recollections. 

yond the Atlantic or originated with the 
New England Puritans. At any rate, he 
said, the idea was so worthy of them that 
he felt " piously inclined' 5 to allow them all 
the credit of it. 

Longfellow I knew well and entertained 
at my home. He was a quiet, gentle, ad- 
mirable man ; a poet in all his moods. We 
often corresponded, and I remember how 
glad he was when he heard that I had bought 
an estate near the historic church of St. 
David's, Radnor, the resting-place of General 
Anthony Wayne, celebrated by Longfellow 
in exquisite verse. " The Radnor Church 
poem," he wrote me from Nahant in 1880, 
" shall be copied for you when I return home 
in August or September. Here by the sea- 
side I have no paper fit for the purpose. 
You shall have it all in due time for the 
honor to be conferred on it. I congratulate 
you on having a country-place in the beau- 
tiful region round Radnor. I am sure you 
will all enjoy it extremely." 

I prize very much the tender note he sent 
me, March 13, 1877, a propos of his seventieth 
birthday. " You do not know yet," it reads, 
" what it is to be seventy years old. I will 
tell you, so that you may not be taken by 
surprise when your turn comes. It is like 



A Host of Memories. 25 

climbing the Alps. You reach a snow- 
crowned summit, and see behind you the 
deep valley stretching miles and miles away, 
and before you other summits higher and 
whiter, which you may have strength to 
climb, or may not. Then you sit down and 
meditate, and wonder which it will be. That 
is the whole story, amplify it as you may. 
All that one can say is, that life is oppor- 
tunity." How very true this is I know full 
well. My experience enables me to perceive 
the wisdom of the poet's words. 

There is a curious incident in my ac- 
quaintance with James Russell Lowell. It 
happened lately that he was in Philadel- 
phia while I was confined to the house with 
a slight attack of sickness, and he came 
promptly and kindly to call upon me and 
pass the afternoon. One of the treasures 
of my library is the manuscript of Lowell's 
poem " Under the Willows," which, accord- 
ing to a marginal note, was begun in 1850 
and finished in 1868. "We spent a quiet, 
pleasant afternoon together, and he seemed 
to be much interested in my collection of 
original manuscripts, which includes " Our 
Mutual Friend," by Dickens, Poe's " Mur- 
ders in the Rue Morgue," and many other 
precious writings. Finally I surprised him 

B 3 



26 Recollections. 

with a glimpse of his own poem. He had 
half forgotten it, and at my request took the 
volume away with him, returning it in a few 
days with the following explanatory note : 
"A part of this poem (as the note on the 
margin opposite says) was written in 1850 as 
an introduction to the ' Nooning/ a projected 
volume of tales in verse. By changes and 
additions I tried to make a self-subsident 
poem out of material already prepared for 
another purpose. Old and new are so inter- 
woven that I cannot now, after an interval 
of twenty years, distinguish between them." 
About twenty-five years ago, on a wretched, 
rainy, sloppy, and muddy day, I was in a 
book-store in Boston, when I saw the striking 
figure of a little man, wearing a slouched 
hat, his pantaloons rolled up, dashing along 
the street. He looked as little like a poet 
as a man could. I turned to the bookseller 
and asked him who that was. " That is 
Oliver "Wendell Holmes," he said. " Well, 
I want to know that man ;" and I got to 
know him, and we have been the best of 
friends ever since. A more genial, genuine, 
delightful man, and a finer conversationalist, 
I never knew. A copy of " The Autocrat 
of the Breakfast-Table," which he sent me, 
contains an interesting letter giving me his 



A Host of Memories. 27 

reasons for beginning the papers in the At- 
lantic Monthly, a name which he says he gave 
to the magazine. 

As I speak, a thousand faces pass before 
me. None more gentle and kind than that 
of Emerson. He visited me with his daugh- 
ter ; a tranquil, lovable man; and he wrote 
me letters. It is a pity, by the way, that I 
failed to preserve my correspondence; much 
of it, doubtless, would be now of consider- 
able interest. 

John Lothrop Motley, W. H. Prescott, 
and George Bancroft were valued friends. 
I remember Motley writing me that he 
thought no history of our great civil war 
should be written within fifty years of its 
close. Prescott had the last photograph of 
himself taken for me. He wrote to tell me 
so, and said, " I shall never sit again for 
another picture, unless it is taken from the 
back of my head." Bancroft I am still 
enabled to honor as one of my oldest and 
most precious friends. 

With the novelist GL P. R. James I was 
quite intimate. While he held the post of 
British Consul at Richmond, Virginia, he 
would often come up to Philadelphia to see 
me ; and he told me once that he dictated all 
his books. Then there were T. Buchanan 



28 Recollections. 

Read, who painted Longfellow's portrait for 
me, and who was present at the dinner I 
gave Longfellow in Rome, "W. W. Story, 
Fitz-Grreene Halieck, Jared Sparks, William 
Gilmore Simms, William Cullen Bryant, 
Professors E. A. Freeman and Bryce, of 
Oxford, Henry 0. Carey, Paul B. Du Chaillu 
(he brought me from Africa the wood for 
the ebony table now in my library), Thomas 
Hughes, Joaquin Miller, Wilkie Collins, — 
a whole troop of them, mj 7 honored friends 
and guests. Above all, I should not forget 
to note one of my earliest and most intimate 
friends, the elder James Gordon Bennett. 
He was a quiet, unobtrusive, forcible man. 
For years, he told me, he had his office a 
few doors from the Brooks's, — Erastus and 
James, of the Evening Express, — and yet had 
never met them. "We often talked together 
in reflective moods. He was eminently 
practical. " Childs," he once said, " how un- 
fortunate it is for a boy to have rich parents ! 
If you and I had been born that way, per- 
haps we wouldn't have amounted to much." 
I might, indeed, go on recalling names 
until you wearied of hearing me. It has 
been my good fortune to possess the friend- 
ship or acquaintance of a very large number 
of the men and women who have distin- 



A Host of Memories. 29 

guished themselves in the politics, science, 
arts, literature, and commerce of this coun- 
try and Europe during the last thirty years. 
There was Edward Everett, for instance, 
who used to spend much of his time in 
this city, the guest of his friend Charles 
Macalester. I have a notable letter from 
him, written under date of Boston, July 9, 
1862, in which he remarks, " I ought to say 
that, though I think the arrest of Mason 
and Slidell was authorized by the Law of 
Xations, I think it was expedient to give 
them up. I therefore approved of their sur- 
render by Mr. Seward, and rejoiced that he 
was able to find grounds for it, though not 
concurring with him in all his views. " 

I have been on friendly terms with men 
of all parties and creeds. I accompanied 
Thomas H. Benton to Boston when he 
delivered his great oration there. Setting 
aside General "Winfield Scott (who sent me 
an early copy of his book, of which he had 
estimated the hundreds of thousands of 
people in the United States who would pur- 
chase copies), Benton was beyond comparison 
the most kindly and agreeably egotistical 
man I ever met. 

Thurlow Weed, an extraordinary man in 
many ways, I knew very well. He once 
3* 



30 Recollections. 

gave me an illustration of the great variety 
and curious character of his wonderful stock 
of information. He told me that there was 
an old Roman well on such and such a spot 
on the Strand in London. I went to John 
Murray while in London and asked him 
about it, as Murray's guide-book made no 
mention of the fact. Murray was in utter 
ignorance of the well, but it was really where 
Thurlow Weed had said it was. 

It is a pleasure for me to recall the myriad 
feces of my guests during many years, here 
in Philadelphia, at Wootton, and at Long 
Branch. Besides those I have mentioned, 
there was the great and good George Pea- 
body. We were very close to each other. 
He had his portrait painted for me by the 
Queen's artist, and there it hangs on the 
wall, one of the most valued of my pos- 
sessions. Hisname recalls that of Peter 
Cooper. These two were considerate and 
broad-minded philanthropists. I went with 
Mr. Cooper on his ninetieth birthday to Bal- 
timore during the sesqui-centennial celebra- 
tion. He there told me an interesting story 
of his early life in that city when he had be- 
come manager of the iron-works at Canton. 
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company 
had built their road beyond Point of Rocks, 



A Host of Memories. 31 

bat no engine could get round the curve. 
Cooper then, with fifty gentlemen, em- 
bracing the directors and others interested 
in the road, improvised an engine bnilt of 
gun-barrels, and successfully rounded the 
curve. When we were in Baltimore to- 
gether, only one man, J. H. B. Latrobe, be- 
sides himself, was left of the original fifty. 

[It is a brave array of names, the guests of Mr. 
Childs, — Generals Grant, Sherman, Meade, Sheridan, 
Hancock, McDowell, and Patterson, Edmund Quincy, 
Chief Justice Waite, A. J. Drexel, Asa Packer, the 
Astors, Cadwaladers, Prof. Joseph Henry, Hamilton 
Fish, Robert G. Winthrop, Charles Francis Adams, 
Presidents Hayes, Arthur, and Cleveland, Chauncey 
M. Depew, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Thomas A. Edison, 
Simon Cameron, Henry Wilson, William M. Evarts, 
James G. Blaine, John Welsh, J. B. Lippincott, Morton 
McMichael, August Belmont, Alex. H. Stephens, Sam- 
uel J. Tilden (one of his last requests was to have Mr. 
Childs visit him at Greystone), Cyrus W. Field, B. J. 
Lossing, Mrs. Grover Cleveland, Charlotte Cushman, 
Christine Nilsson, Harriet Hosmer, John Bigelow, 
Thomas A. Bayard, Parke Godwin, Andrew Carne- 
gie, and many others. Mr. Childs does not hesitate 
to say that one of the chief pleasures of his life has 
been the keeping of an open house to worthy and 
distinguished people. The reception he gave to the 
Emperor and Empress of Brazil was perhaps the most 
notable gathering of people ever assembled in any 
private house in America. There were over six hun- 
dred guests ; and Mr. Childs's was the first private 
house at which the Emperor and Empress had ever 



32 Recollections. 

been entertained. But one must not overlook in this 
incomplete list of visitors the names of the Duke and 
Duchess of Buckingham, the Duke of Sutherland, the 
Duke of Newcastle, Lords Dufferin, Rosebery, Hough- 
ton, Uchester, Boss, Iddesleigh, Bayleigh, Herschell, 
Caithness, and Dunraven, Sir Stafford Northcote, 
Lady Franklin, Dean Stanley, Canon Kingsley, 
Charles Dickens, George Augustus Sala, Joseph 
Chamberlain, M.P., J. Anthony Froude, Prof. Tyn- 
dall, Prof. Bonamy Price, Admiral Lord Clarence 
Paget, Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen, Colonel Sir Herbert 
Sandford, Charles Kean, Marquis de Rochambeau, John 
Walter, M.P., Sir Richard Temple, Herbert Spencer 
(who was sadly afflicted with insomnia while visiting 
Mr. Childs), Thomas Hughes, M.P., Sir John Rose, 
Sir Edward Thornton, and Robert Chambers, D.C.L. 
There are countless souvenirs of these and other 
guests in Mr. Chilcls's home, — a photograph of the 
Emperor of Brazil, with his autograph, painted por- 
traits, a chair embroidered by the Duchess of Buck- 
ingham for Mrs. Childs. The library is full of pre- 
sentation copies of books from many authors ; some of 
them have dedicated volumes to him. But no doubt 
the most interesting souvenir is Mrs. Childs's album ; 
it contains the signatures and sentiments of a host of 
distinguished men and women in all professions who 
have been her guests. Thomas Nast, for example, 
sketches himself in it ; Oscar Wilde, Bishop Doane, 
George Bancroft, Goldwin Smith, Walt Whitman, 
Lord Houghton, and Lord Dufferin contribute poems ; 
and Charlotte Cushman, Modjeska, and Henry Irving 
each an appropriate Shakspearian sentiment. Dean 
Stanley, Matthew Arnold, Sir Edwin Arnold, Bishop 
Potter, and Archdeacon Farrar write sentiments 
appreciative of their hospitable entertainment.] 



CHAPTER II. 

A TRIP ABROAD. 

Dickens — The Duke of Buckingham — Lady Franklin — 
Longfellow — Dom Pedro. 

Late in the autumn of 1868 I went 
abroad, and one of the first letters that 
reached me at the Langham Hotel in 
Regent Street, London, bore, under date 
of November 4, a genial greeting from 
Charles Dickens. " Welcome to England !" 
it said. " Dolby will have told you that I 
am reading again, — on a very fatiguing 
scale, — but that after the end of next week 
I shall be free for a fortnight as to country 
readings. On Monday next I shall be in 
town, and shall come straight to pay my 
respects to Mrs. Childs and you. In the 
mean time, will you, if you can, so arrange 
your engagements as to give me a day or 
two here in the latter half of this month ? 
My housekeeper-daughter is away hunting 
in Hampshire, but my sister-in-law is al- 
c 33 



34 Recollections. 

ways in charge, and my married daughter 
would be charmed to come from London to 
receive Mrs. Childs. You cannot be quieter 
anywhere than here, and you certainly can- 
not have from any one a heartier welcome 
than from me." We certainly could not : 
to Gad's Hill Place we went, and passed a 
quiet, delightful time. I had corresponded 
with Dickens for a number of years : in my 
library there is a set of the Osgood edition 
of his works in fifty-six volumes, in each of 
which is inserted an autograph letter of the 
author to me, the first being dated 1855. 
During this visit we were much together: 
he accompanied us to London, and when we 
parted he clasped my hands and said, 
u Good-by; God bless you!" and the tears 
were in his eyes. 

He told me that before beginning any one 
of his works he thought out the plot fully, and 
then made a skeleton from which he elab- 
orated it. The most interesting and valu- 
able memento I have of him is the original 
manuscript of " Our Mutual Friend." It is 
the only complete manuscript of any of 
Dickens's novels outside of the South Ken- 
sington Museum; though one or two of his 
short Christmas stories, I believe, are to be 
found in this country and in England. A 



A Trip Abroad. 35 

skeleton of the story is prefixed to each 
volume, the first covering sixteen, the sec- 
ond eighteen pages of quarto paper. These 
skeletons show how Dickens constructed his 
stories. They are very curious. Here is a 
sample page : 

OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, NO. 1. 
CHAPTER I. 

ON THE LOOKOUT. 

The Man, in his boat, watching the tides. 
The Gaffer, — Gaffer — Gaffer Hexam — 
Hexam. 
His daughter rowing. Jen, or Lizzie. 
Taking the body in tow. 
His dissipated partner, who 

has " Robbed a live man !" 
Riderhood — this fellow's name. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE MAN FROM SOMEWHERE. 

The entirely new people. 

Everything new — Grandfather new — if they 
had one. 

Dinner Party — Twernlow, Podsnap, Lady Tip- 
pins, Alfred Lighthouse, also Eugene — Mor- 
timer, languid and tells of Harmon the Dust 
Contractor. 



36 Recollections. 

Then follow sentences, written everywhere 
on the page, like this : " Work in the girl 
who was to have been married and made 
rich," etc. There is also this outline head- 



x ? 



FOTJE BOOKS. 

I. The Cup and the Lip. 
II. Birds of a Feather. 

III. A Long Lane. 

IV. A Turning. 

The story is written in small, oddly- 
formed letters, with frequent erasures, on 
heavy, light-blue paper in dark-blue ink. 
It is marked as completed September 2, 
1865, and has a postscript in lieu of a pref- 
ace, under which is given this date. The 
manuscript is just as it came finally from 
Dickens's hands, even the names of the 
compositors in the printing-office remaining 
at the head of each " take." 

It was through Dickens that I became 
acquainted with Wilkie Collins, one of the 
most agreeable men I ever met, and whom 
I have since entertained in this country. 
The two families were very intimate, as Mr. 
Collins's brother had married Mr. Dickens's 
daughter. 

From Gad's Hill Place we went to Stowe, 



A Trip Abroach 37 

one of the estates of the late Duke of Buck- 
ingham, the last of the Plantagenets. I had 
first met the Duke a few years before, when, 
as Marquis of Chanclos, he came to this 
country in the suite of the Prince of Wales 
and was entertained by me while in Phila- 
delphia. I found him always an unaffected, 
able, and agreeable man. It may be said of 
him that he was the first English nobleman 
who broke an entail to pay his father's debts. 
He was one of the most hospitable of men. 
I gave many Americans letters of introduc- 
tion to him, and he entertained them royally. 
He was a man of much ability, — an astute 
politician and a successful railroad manager. 
He knew the name and the place of every bolt 
in an engine ; and it was he who invented the 
ingenious trough arrangement by means of 
which engines in motion can replenish their 
tanks with water. Stowe is a vast building, 
some twelve hundred feet in length. One 
of its attractions was a unique chapel, built 
of cedar and gold, brought by the Duke's 
ancestors from Spain. He told me that one 
day in Spain he was talking with a priest 
who described a beautiful little church that 
had once stood on the spot where they were 
conversing. The priest mourned its loss, 
saying that it had been actually plucked 
4 



38 Recollections. 

from the soil and transported to England. 
He never suspected that the Duke owned it. 
Stowe was connected by the Duke with 
his other residence of Wootton by means of 
a railroad. At this latter place, which had 
been in his family over seven hundred years, 
and after which I named my own country- 
seat near Bryn Mawr, we also passed some 
pleasant days. There was a notable oak-tree 
there that had been planted by Queen Eliza- 
beth. While at Stowe we slept in the same 
rooms that had been occupied by Queen 
Victoria when the Duke of Buckingham's 
father entertained her majesty one week at a 
cost of seventy-five thousand dollars. Later 
on, when we were stopping at the Langham 
Hotel, near the Duke's residence on Chandos 
Street, I had an amusing adventure. The 
Duke had asked me to visit his church, sit- 
uated in that street, and one morning I 
strolled there, and, entering, requested the 
pew r -opener to show me to the ducal pew. 
u The servants' pew ?" he asked. When I 
related this experience to the Duke he 
laughed, and said it was not so amusing 
as one of his own. He had gone one day, 
he said, while chairman of the London and 
Northwestern Railway, to the office of the 
company and requested one of the attend- 



A Trip Abroad. 39 

ants to show him to the room of a certain 
official, the head of a department. The 
man eyed the Duke critically, and observed, 
"You won't do: you're too lightweight." 
It then transpired that the official had ad- 
vertised for a porter, and the attendant 
mistook the Duke for an applicant for the 
situation. 

The first wife of the Duke of Buckingham 
was a lovely woman, a Miss Harvey, and 
their marriage had been one of love. Mrs. 
Childs has still an embroidered chair pre- 
sented to her by the Duchess, who had 
worked it for her. One of the most inter- 
esting mementos I have of the Duke is a set 
of photographs of his governmental col- 
leagues. They were hospitality itself to us. 
One day we were asked whether we cared 
to visit Fountain Abbey, the picturesque 
property of Lord Eipon (Earl de Grey), 
whom I knew when he was in this country 
as one of the High Joint Commission, and, 
availing ourselves of the invitation, special 
permission was accorded our party to drive 
in the grounds and view the private build- 
ings. We drove over from Harrogate in 
carriages, and enjoyed the jaunt immensely. 
The duchess lingered outside the abbey for 
a time, sketching, and when we rejoined 



40 Recollections. 

her she told us that she had overheard, a 
party of visitors discussing our entrance into 
the private precinct, and one of them, glan- 
cing at the carriages, had said, " Well, I'll 
wager they're Americans : those people are 
admitted everywhere." 

Altogether, our stay in England was very 
delightful, made largely so by the number 
of interesting and agreeable people with 
whom we came in contact, as at " Bear- 
wood," the splendid home of Mr. Walter, 
of the London Times, where we met Charles 
Kinffsley, Archdeacon Benson, now Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, Lord Houghton, and 
many other distinguished personages. As 
might be imagined from the circumstance 
of my publication of Dr. Kane's book, I had 
a peculiar pleasure in making the acquaint- 
ance of Lady Franklin. She was afterwards 
my guest for a week at Long Branch. She 
was on a journey round the world, and she 
came with her niece, a man- and a maid- 
servant, her cooking-utensils, and a whole 
baggage-wagon-full of traps. I can dis- 
tinctly recall her standing upon the lawn 
and looking out over the sea. " What is it 
across there ?" she asked, pointing straight 
ahead. " Portugal," I told her. " I've just 
come from there," she said. 




^C.j^ 



A Trip Abroad. 41 

Not only in England bat on the Conti- 
nent our trip abroad was made very pleasant 
by the acquaintanceship and hospitality of 
many agreeable people. Here and there we 
met old friends and fellow-countrymen. In 
Rome, for instance, we passed some delight- 
ful weeks with Longfellow, who had resided 
there for a lengthy period in earlier years, 
and by living in Italian families had be- 
come very well known and very popular. 
He was much feted. I gave him a dinner 
at which some of the Roman dignitaries, 
artists, and writers were present. T. Bu- 
chanan Read, the artist-poet, was at that 
time in the Eternal City, and one of my 
guests. At dinner, Read's famous paint- 
ing of Longfellow's three daughters was dis- 
cussed, and Longfellow observed that the 
picture was a good one save in one particu- 
lar ; Read, he said, had painted one of his 
children to look as if she had no arms. He 
illustrated his criticism w 7 ith a story, saying 
that the daughter in question and himself 
had heard a boy at a watering-place cry- 
ing photographs for sale of " Longfellow's 
daughters, — one without arms !" 

As I make no other pretension in these 
chats than idly to recall some salient or 
diverting incidents in my career or acquaint- 

4* 



42 Recollections. 

ance with notable men, I may take advan- 
tage of this second allusion to Longfellow 
to say a word or two about a man of exalted 
station and intellect, — that modest ex-mon- 
arch, Dom Pedro, late Emperor of Brazil. 
Speaking of Longfellow reminded me of 
the time when Dom Pedro, gazing at the 
portrait of Longfellow which hangs in my 
library, exclaimed, " That is your great 
American poet. I have translated his works 
into Portuguese, and made known the 
beauty of his verse to all Brazil." 

This was in 1876, when, during the Cen- 
tennial Exhibition, the Emperor was my 
guest and I naturally arranged for him to 
visit the various places of interest in Phila- 
delphia. At my house I presented to him 
the late James L. Claghorn, President of 
the Academy of Fine Arts, who invited him 
to visit the Academy, and on his expressing 
a desire to go, inquired what hour would 
be most agreeable to his majesty. " Six 
o'clock," he said. It was a favorite hour 
with him ; but Mr. Claghorn, not knowing 
this, was aghast. However, promptly at the 
appointed time he had the directors of the 
Academy on hand to greet the Emperor, 
w T ho exhibited an unfeigned and very intel- 
ligent interest in the art treasures of the 



A Trip Abroad. 43 

building. When introduced to Dr. Rusch- 
enberger, President of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences, he surprised the doctor 
and those about him by saying, " I know 
you as an author;" and he proceeded to 
name the books the doctor had written, some 
of them being out of print. 

He accepted an invitation for the next day 
to visit the coal-regions, and set a^ain his 
favorite hour of six o'clock as the time to 
start. We went in Judge Packer's private 
car, and visited various coal-mines and iron- 
works, the Emperor's interest never flag- 
ging. He seemed to understand all the 
details of manufacture, and paid particu- 
lar attention to the Bessemer and Siemens 
processes of steel-making. A curious inci- 
dent happened while we were at the Thomas 
Iron-Works. Mr. Thomas (who introduced 
the process of making iron with anthracite 
coal) came to me and said that his grand- 
daughter would like to be presented to the 
Emperor, as she had previously met him in 
Egypt. So we turned to his majesty, and I 
had hardly named the young lady, when he 
exclaimed, " Oh, I met you at the Pyramids, 
and gave you my photograph, did I not?" 

We were fourteen hours on that jour- 
ney, returning to Philadelphia at eight p.m. 



44 Recollections. 

I was quite worn, out, and went to bed. 
Rising early, I picked up the Ledger, and 
about the first thing that caught my eye 
was an account of the Emperor's attend- 
ance the night before at a meeting of the 
Academy of Natural Sciences, where, it ap- 
peared, he had taken part in the discussions 
of the evening. I mention all this to show 
that one monarch in the world, at least, is 
a man of energy and broadest intelligence 
and kindest sympathy. He seemed to 
know all about Professor Henry of the 
Smithsonian Institution when I made the 
two acquainted, and spoke of his original 
and practical application of the telegraph. 
B3 7 invitation of the professor he visited 
Washington and the Smithsonian Institution. 
Again, when I introduced him to Joaquin 
Miller, he instantly spoke in praise of the 
Sierra Nevada poems. Indeed, there was 
apparently nothing notable in literature, art, 
or science that had not engaged his atten- 
tion. In women's medical colleges he was 
much interested. I broached the subject 
during our trip to the coal-regions, and he 
amazed me with the breadth of his informa- 
tion, dwelling, as he did, upon the labors of 
those women who were sent out as mission- 
aries. 



A Trip Abroad. 45 

I cannot help holding the unfortunate 
Dom Pedro in the kindest remembrance ; 
and it is gratifying to know that I have him 
as a loyal friend. He presented me with a 
large photograph likeness bearing an auto- 
graph inscription, and with a copy of his 
book of travels in which he wrote some 
kindly words. It was one of the pleasing 
methods he employed to show me I was not 
forgotten, that I have been honored with 
an early and welcome visit from each new 
Brazilian minister to the United States. 
And perhaps I may be pardoned for quoting 
at this appropriate place the following ex- 
tract from a letter which the Hon. Thomas 
A. Osborn, late American Minister to Bra- 
zil, recently wrote to a friend, describing 
his presentation to the Emperor : " I have 
thought," he says, " that you might not be 
uninterested in learning that the Emperor, 
in an informal conversation which followed 
the presentation of my letter of credence, 
inquired quite feelingly after Mr. George 
"W. Childs, and manifested a deep concern in 
his welfare. The Emperor spoke of the hos- 
pitalities extended to him in Philadelphia, 
and was especially warm in his expressions 
touching Mr. Childs." 

Senhor J. G. do Amaral Valente, Brazilian 



46 Recollections. 

Minister to the United States, had delivered 
to me in October, 1889, a cup and saucer 
of beautiful design and exquisite finish, a 
present from the Emperor. The following 
letter gives an account of the presentation. 

" Brazilian Legation, 
11 Washington, October 15, 1889. 

" Mr. George W. Childs : 

" My dear Sir, — I take pleasure in for- 
warding by express to your address a small 
box containing a cup and saucer which the 
Emperor has been pleased to send you as a 
souvenir. 

" Perhaps you would be interested in 
learning the circumstances that originated 
His Majesty's special mark of kindness to 
you, and therefore I think myself justified 
in saying a few words in this connection. 

" As you well know, the Emperor has 
always kept the most pleasant recollections 
of his visit to this country, as well as a 
grateful and cordial remembrance of you, 
after w^hom he never fails to inquire when- 
ever an opportunity presents itself. Lately, 
before my departure from Rio de Janeiro to 
the States, I had the honor to call to receive 
His Majesty's orders. At the close of the 
interview I was instructed to give his affec- 



A Trip Abroad. 47 

tionate regards to some of his friends, your 
name being mentioned in the first place. I 
then took the liberty of suggesting that you 
had a very curious collection of china, and 
that I believed a cup and saucer coming from 
His Majesty would be very much appreciated 
by you and considered a great addition to 
the same collection. The Emperor said that 
if that was the case he would be very much 
pleased to send you one, and added, ' Well, 
I shall send Mr. Childs the same cup and 
saucer I use to-morrow at my breakfast,' 
and immediately gave his chamberlain the 
instructions to that effect. 

"I need not say how glad I feel at the 
acquisition you are going to make. I trust 
that you will receive the said souvenir in 
perfect order. 

" Believe me, 

" Yours very truly, 
" J. Gr. do Amaral Valente." 



The following self-explanatory letter from 
Captain Luiz Philippe de Saldanha da Gama, 
of the Brazilian navy, a very close friend 
of the Emperor, will doubtless prove inter- 
esting in view of the recent revolution in 
Brazil : 



48 Recollections. 

11 Washington, November 22, 1889. 

" Deae Sir, — When I came from Brazil 
about a month ago to join the Maritime 
Internationa] Conference as a delegate, I had 
the honor to be the bearer of an autograph 
letter of His Majesty Dom Pedro II., ad- 
dressed to you. Unable, however, to move 
away from this city on the days following 
my arrival, and at the same time unwilling 
to forward such a letter to you by mail, I 
was still awaiting the leisure that should 
permit me to go to Philadelphia, and deliver 
myself, into your own hands, so expressive a 
mark of His Majesty's kind recollection and 
cordial feelings towards you. But now, in 
the face of the grave events which have just 
occurred in Brazil, I consider it my duty to 
delay no longer the fulfilment of the charge 
His Majesty imposed upon me, and, there- 
fore, I take the liberty to send you his letter, 
herewith enclosed. 

" Allow me to thank you for your edi- 
torial of the 20th instant in reference to 
the Emperor's personality and to the revo- 
lution which has just dethroned him. As 
a patriotic Brazilian, as well as a most de- 
voted and faithful personal friend to His 
Majesty, I must say I felt extremely gratified 
in reading the enlightened views expressed 



A Trip Abroad. 49 

by a republican journal like the Public Ledger 
on the Emperor's character, his learning, his 
correct behavior, his unselfishness, his good 
intentions, and his patriotic feelings. 

" However, the revolution in Brazil seems 
to be at present an accomplished fact; and 
he, who never condemned any of his fellow- 
countrymen to expatriation, is now on his 
way to a strange shore, — lie, who really was, 
during fifty years of reign, the firm guar- 
antee of the rights and prerogatives of all 
Brazilians, has been compelled to leave his 
country in an hour's time, and by night, like 
a wretched criminal. I clare hope he will 
reach in safety the land of exile, and meet 
yet with marks of love and affection from 
those who knew him well and from those 
who are indebted to him for many favors. 

"Pray, therefore, accept once more my 
most grateful thanks for what you have 
written of Dom Pedro de Alcantara, both 
as a man and as Emperor of Brazil, 
" And believe me, etc., 
" L. P. de Saldanha da Gama, 

" Captain. 

" To Mr. George W. Childs." 

The following is a translation of the letter 
sent by Dom Pedro : 

C d 5 



50 Recollections. 

" Mr. G. W. Childs, — In recalling your 
kindness and the splendid evening that you 
gave me in Philadelphia, I recommend to 
you the captain of the Brazilian navy, Mr. 
Luiz Philippe de Saldanha da Gam a, and I 
am sure that you will make his second visit 
to you in Philadelphia as agreeable as the 
first, and that he will give me news of your 
beautiful collections. 

"Affectionately yours, 
"D. Pedro d'Alcantara." 

"Riode Janeiro, October 4, 1889." 



CHAPTER III. 

LIBRARY TREASURES. 

Precious Manuscripts — Poe's Murders in the Kue Morgue 
— A Collection of Valuable Autographs — Andrew 
Johnson's Letters. 

Tou would like to see " the treasures" of 
my library ? There they are, — several thou- 
sand of them : many of them notable books 
indeed. The presentation copies alone, I 
suppose, contain enough interesting auto- 
graph inscriptions of their authors to amuse 
you. ' There are many curios in the collec- 
tion, — many valuable manuscripts. Here, 
bearing the date of May 17, 1703, written 
in a small, compact, but legible hand, is the 
original of a sermon by Cotton Mather. To 
set it oft", here are two volumes that were 
once in the library of Charles Dickens, — one 
the Poetical Works of Leigh Hunt, with an 
autograph inscription to " Charles Dickens, 
from his constant admirer and obliged friend, 
Leigh Hunt," the other a copy of Hood's 

51 



52 Recollections. 

" Comic Annual" for 1842. It contains 
these characteristic lines in Hood's hand- 
writing : 



o 



Pshaw ! away with leaf and berry 

And the sober-sided cup I 
Bring a goblet, and bright sherry ! 

And a bumper fill me up. 
Tho' I had a pledge to shiver, 

And the longest ever was, 
Ere his vessel leaves our river, 

I will drink a health to Boz! 

Here's success to all his antics, 

Since it pleases him to roam, 
And to paddle o'er Atlantics, 

After such a sale at home ! — 
May he shun all rocks whatever, 

And the shallow sand that lurks, 
And his passage be as clever 

As the best among his works ! 

A manuscript I prize is the translation 
of the first book of the Iliad by my friend 
William Cullen Bryant. Not less interest- 
ing is the manuscript of Edgar A. Poe's 
remarkable story of " The Murders in the 
Rue Morgue." It is written in a fine close 
hand on seventeen pages of large legal-cap 
paper, and has quite a history. The late Mr. 
J. W. Johnston, from whom I secured it, 
wrote me that it was in the spring of 1841, 



Library Treasures. 53 

at the time he was an apprentice in the office 
of Barrett & Thrasher, printers, in Phila- 
delphia, that the manuscript came into his 
possession. It was at this office that Gra- 
ham's Magazine, in which the story first ap- 
peared, was printed. After the tale had 
been put in type and the proof read, the 
manuscript found its way into the waste- 
basket; but Mr. Johnston picked it up, 
and, obtaining permission to keep it, took 
it home to the residence of his father. He 
then, it seems, lost sight of the manuscript 
for years. His father removed from Phil- 
adelphia to York County, Pennsjdvania, 
thence to Maryland, and thence to Virginia, 
and in these several pilgrimages, unknown 
to himself, carried the Poe manuscript along 
with him, folded up in one of the books of 
his library. Determining to return to Penn- 
sylvania, he made sale of his personal effects, 
and among a lot of old books offered was 
found the Poe manuscript. It was at once 
recognized, rescued from the rubbish among 
which it had so nearly been lost, and for- 
warded to Mr. Johnston the son, who in the 
mean time (1847) had removed to Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania, and begun business as a cla- 
guerrotypist. Twice his daguerrean rooms 
took fire, and once (March 8, 1850) almost 

5* 



54 Recollections. 

all his books, papers, pictures, and apparatus 
were consumed; but the Poe manuscript, 
folded within the leaves of an old music- 
book, escaped the wreck. 

" About the year 1857," he goes on to 
say, in his letter to me, " a grocery-store, 
occupying the first floor of the building in 
which were my rooms, took fire and burned 
furiously. The flames did not reach my 
rooms, but the smoke did, and the firemen 
drenched them with water, destroying books, 
papers, and other property ; but, by rare good 
fortune, the Poe manuscript again escaped all 
injury, except a slight discoloration. From 
1861 to 1864 I was in the army, but on my 
return therefrom I found the Poe manuscript 
in the old music-book where I had left it on 
leaving home. In the spring of 1865 I took 
charge of the Swan Hotel, Lancaster. Re- 
moving therefrom in 1869, a great deal of 
rubbish was consigned to the ash-pile, the 
old music-book sharing the fate of many 
worthless articles. The next-door neighbor, 
thinking it had been inadvertently thrown 
away, picked it from the ash-pile and handed 
it to me. On opening the book, I again be- 
held the much-neglected manuscript. Re- 
solved that it should not again be subjected 
to so many risks, I at once had it bound." 



Library Treasures. 55 

I have a very interesting letter written 
under date of August 13, 1841, by Poe to 
the Philadelphia publishers Lea & Blanchard. 
" I wish," he says, " to publish a new collec- 
tion of my prose tales, with some such title 
as this : ' The Prose Tales of Edgar A. Poe, in- 
cluding " The Murders in the Rue Morgue" the 
"Descent into the Maelstrom" and all his later 
pieces, with a second edition of the " Tales of the 
Grotesque and Arabesque" ' 

" The later pieces will be eight in number, 
making the entire collection thirty-three, 
which would occupy two thick novel volumes. 

" I am anxious that your firm should con- 
tinue to be my publishers, and, if you would 
be willing to bring out the book, I should be 
glad to accept the terms which you allowed 
me before, — that is, you receive all profits, 
and allow me twenty copies for distribution 
to friends." 

I possess an interesting relic of Lord By- 
ron, — his writing-desk, on which he wrote 
" Don Juan" and other poems. It bears his 
crest and monogram. Byron's works are 
represented in my library by Murray's sump- 
tuous six-volume edition (1855), inscribed to 
me " In testimony of kind remembrance, 
from John Murray." The first volume con- 
tains portions of the manuscript of " The 



56 Recollections. 

Bride of Abydos." It also gives a curious 
illustration of Byron's dislike of Words- 
worth. When "Peter Bell" appeared, By- 
ron cut it out, placed it in the beginning of 
a copy of his own works, and on the margin 
of the page wrote a parody of the poem. 
It will be remembered that " Peter Bell" 
ran in this way: 

PROLOGUE. 

There's something in a flying horse, 
And something in a huge balloon ; 

But through the clouds I'll never float 

Until I get a little Boat 

Whose shape is like the crescent moon. 

And now I have a little Boat, 

In shape a very crescent moon : — etc. 

Byron's parody is as follows : 

EPILOGUE. 

There's something in a stupid ass, 
And something in a heavy dunce ; 

But never since I went to school 

I heard or saw so damned a fool 
As William Wordsworth is for once. 

And now I've seen so great a fool 

As William Wordsworth is for once, 
I really wish that Peter Bell 
And he who wrote it were in hell, 
For writing nonsense for the nonce. 



Library Treasures. 57 

" I saw the light in ninety-eight," 
Sweet Babe of one-and-twenty years ! 

And then he gives it to the nation, 
And deems himself of Shakespeare's peers. 

He gives the perfect work to light! 

Will Wordsworth, if I might advise, 
Content you with the praise you get 
From Sir George Beaumont, Baronet, 

And with your place in the Excise. 
Ravenna, March 22, 1820. 

Here is the original manuscript of Wil- 
liam Godwin's " Cloudesley : a Novel." It 
is written on both sides of the sheets of 
old parchment paper, but in a strikingly 
clear and smooth hand. Shakespearian 
scholars, I suppose, would be particularly 
interested in my copy of Mrs. Mary Cowden 
Clarke's " Complete Concordance to Shake- 
speare." It contains a selection of fifty 
closely-written pages of the original manu- 
script, together with a long and exceedingly 
interesting autograph letter, which gives a 
detailed account of the progress of the work 
from its inception, through the twelve years 
occupied in its compilation, and four more 
of press-corrections, to its final publication; 
also copies of a congratulatory letter from 
Douglas Jerrold, the author's application for 
the privilege of dedicating the work to the 



58 Recollections. 

Queen, and the Queen's reply, besides sev- 
eral portraits, a large number of newspaper 
cuttings, etc. In a letter to me, written from 
Villa Novello, Genoa, February 8, 1879, Mrs. 
Clarke says, " The notice in your paper was 
read through tears of proud emotion at the 
way in which your reviewer recognized the 
admirable characters of my Parents : It was 
enjoyed in concert by our family party, then 
assembled around our breakfast-table here; 
which included my brother Alfred, my sister 
Sabilla, and our two charming Italian nieces, 
Portia and Valeria Gigliueei — to whom I 
read aloud, as well as my streaming eyes 
would allow me, this American warmth of 
tribute to Vincent and Mary Novello's moral 
and intellectual excellence." 

From the late Anna Maria Hall and her 
husband, S. C. Hall,* I procured a valu- 

* I received, early in the year 1889, a long letter from 
Mr. Hall. It was written December 8, 1888, but delayed 
many weeks in transmission by the correspondent with 
whom it was designed to make me acquainted. This 
was no doubt one of the last letters written by the 
venerable author, and its concluding lines are full of 
pathos. " My dear, much-honored, and greatly loved 
friend," it reads. " This may be the last letter of con- 
sequence I shall write. It is high time I left earth. I 
think my work is very nearly done,— and I shall soon 
meet my beloved at the Golden Gate. We shall meet 



Library Treasures. 59 

able collection of letters, manuscripts, and 
sketches of many celebrated people of the 
past fifty years. Mrs. Hall presented me 
with the Bible of Tom Moore, in which 
the poet entered the names and birth- and 
death-dates of his children. I have also an 
original score signed by Tom Moore, and 
the poet's famous Irish harp. 

I have perhaps the only complete manu- 
script of any of Thackeray's works in ex- 
istence. It is his " Lectures on the Four 
Georges," and is entirely in his own hand- 
writing. The volume is illustrated by nu- 
merous original drawings by Thackeray, 
some of which are colored by himself. I 
have also the original manuscript of Walter 
Scott's " Chronicles of the Canongate," 
which he presented from his Abbotsford 
library to his publishers, with a kind and 
appreciative note. 

Among many other original manuscripts 
in my possession are " The Need of Two 
Loves," by IS". P. Willis ; James Fenimore 

there, I am very sure ! Yet I am in fair health, my 
friends do not neglect me, and I am well taken care of 
by an excellent nurse-attendant. ?; 

A postscript reads : "I write this letter in the eighty- 
ninth year of my age. And if I say farewell, you will 
not be astounded." 



60 Recollections. 

Cooper's " Life of Captain Richard Som- 
ers ;" Mary Howitt's translation of Frederika 
Bremer's " Hertha ;" Bulwer's " Pilgrims 
of the Rhine" and "Godolphin;" Gray's 
u Habitations of our Kings ;" Harriet Mar- 
tineau's " Retrospect of "Western Travel ;" 
the Dickens manuscripts to which I have 
previously alluded ; and " The Italian Bride," 
an original tragedy by John Howard Payne, 
author of " Home, Sweet Home." This 
tragedy by Payne is in four acts, and 
was written for Charlotte Cushman ; but it 
was never produced, and it has never been 
printed. Payne left two manuscript copies 
of his play. One was given to his friend 
Mr. James Rees, a well-known literary 
man of Philadelphia, from whom it passed 
directly to me. It consists of ninety-six 
pages entirely in the handwriting of Payne 
himself, with only a few pencil-marks and 
some stage-directions on the alternate blank 
pages. 

The manuscript of " The Cow-Chase" 
must not be overlooked. This satirical 
poem, written by Major Andre, was founded 
upon an unsuccessful attempt of a party 
under General Anthony Wayne to capture 
a block-house upon the Hudson, a short 
distance from New York City, on the 21st 



Library Treasures. 61 

of July, 1780. It is said to have been the 
last literary effort of the ill-fated young 
Englishman, and, singularly enough, the 
last canto was published in N~ew York, in 
Rivington's Royal Gazette, on the same day 
upon which he was arrested. The poem 
was afterwards printed, with full notes, for 
private circulation, and this with the original 
manuscript was the property of the Rev. 
Win. B. Sprague, of Albany, New York, 
an extensive collector of autographs, who 
prized it as probably the most valuable 
article in his collection. The manuscript 
has been admirably illustrated by my friend 
Mr. Ferdinand J. Dreer, of Philadelphia, 
with portraits of the generals of the Revo- 
lution, both Continental and English, well- 
known and historical landscapes, charac- 
ters, and buildings. The closing stanza of 
Andre's epic, which is complete in three 
cantos, runs as follows : 

And now I've closed my epic strain, 

I tremble as I show it, 
Lest this same warrior-drover Wayne 

Should ever catch the poet. 

Soon afterwards Andre was caught, and 
some unkind hand thus continues the poem : 



6 2 Recollections. 

And when the epic strain was sung, 
The poet by the neck was hung, 
And to his cost he finds too late 
The "dung-born tribe'' decides his fate. 

It would not be interesting merely to cat- 
alogue my collection, which includes poems, 
letters, and manuscripts of Burns, Swift, 
Longfellow, Bryant, Holmes, Tennyson, 
Pepys, Pope, Thomson, Shelley, Keats, 
William Penn, Voltaire, Goethe, Irving, 
Lamb, Gibbon, Hume, Lord Clarendon, and 
others. Coleridge is represented by a long 
letter, in which he states that he would be 
glad to go to London if he could be assured 
of a guinea a week. Here is a noteworthy 
manuscript of Schiller, — his dramatic poem 
entitled " Demetrius. " It occupies two folio 
pages, and was secured for me through the 
kindness of Longfellow. There is also the 
original manuscript draught of Tennyson's 
dedicatory poem to the Queen, which is 
prefixed to the last collected edition of his 
poems. 

I will do no more than enumerate a letter 
of Lord Nelson, written four days before his 
death; a number of presentation- volumes 
from the brothers Chambers, Robert, Wil- 
liam, and David; many curiously illustrated, 
inlaid, and arranged works, especially Tick- 



Library- Treasures. 63 

nor's Life of Prescott, two volumes quarto, 
with several hundred illustrations; Life of 
Everett, quarto; Rogers's Italy and Poems, 
inlaid with three hundred engravings, all 
first impressions; a work on the empire of 
Brazil, presented by Dom Pedro in 1876, 
and containing his autograph; a copy of 
Chambers's " English Literature," which has 
autograph letters, about seven hundred extra 
plates, and numerous newspaper cuttings 
and references, the work being extended to 
eight volumes ; many books upon the Xorth 
American Indians; quite a large collection 
of Americana; Lamb's Works, with auto- 
graph letters of Lamb ; Talfourd's Life of 
Lamb, with a manuscript poem by Talfourd, 
and a letter written to myself; Shakespeare's 
Works in many editions ; a Collection of 
the Illustrations of H. K. Browne, better 
known as " Phiz," which contains all the 
sketches, several hundred, in number, that 
can be obtained, and is enriched by memo- 
randa and notes in the artist's own hand; 
and three large volumes of photographs, 
many bearing also the autographs, of inter- 
esting and well-known people I have met at 
home and abroad. 

One of the most unique works in my 
library is " A Collection of Autographs, 



64 Recollections. 

made by a Scrivener." Mr. W. G. Latham, 
a lawyer of New Orleans, compiled the 
book. As a notary public he had access to 
many original documents, and he presently 
began to make accurate copies of the notable 
signatures which came under his notice. He 
thus employed the leisure hours of twenty- 
five years, and made at least one trip to 
Europe to complete his remarkable collec- 
tion. If lost it could never be replaced. 
There are about four thousand names in 
the book, and they embrace distinguished 
Americans of all professions from the be- 
ginning of our history; Bpitish authors from 
before Shakespeare until within a few years ; 
men of renown in authorship, medicine, 
theology, natural history, botany, music, the 
drama, and the fine arts; a complete list of 
the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence; Washington and his generals;. Na- 
poleon and leading men of his time and 
nation ; and the royalty, nobility, and mili- 
tary and naval celebrities of Europe for 
the past three centuries. Appended to al- 
most every signature is a brief biographical 
sketch. 

I have reserved for final mention a vol- 
ume in my library that no doubt exceeds all 
others in historical interest. It is a large 



Library Treasures. 65 

folio containing portraits and autograph let- 
ters of every President of the United States 
from Washington to Harrison. Eight of the 
letters are personal ones from the various 
Presidents to myself. 

The first letter is one of the most inter- 
esting. It was written by Washington to 
Colonel Clement Biddle r of Philadelphia, 
under date of Mount Vernon, December 8, 
1799, — that is to say, only six days before 
Washington's death. It was the last letter 
he wrote. There is not the slightest in- 
dication of approaching dissolution in the 
firm handwriting; the letters are carefully 
formed, the words carefully chosen; and, 
though he spells cabin with two b's, his 
shrewdness in business dealing is illustrated 
in the stately announcement to Colonel Bid- 
die that he has it in mind to send him " a 
hundred or two barrels of flour to dispose 
of for me in the Philadelphia market, as it 
commands a better price there than in Alex- 
andria, and some barrels of fish also, — on 
commission." He also instructs his corre- 
spondent about the purchase of various kinds 
of seeds. 

John Adams's letter is addressed to Com- 
modore Bainbridge; he declines an invita- 
tion to visit the latter, on the ground that " an 

e 6* 



66 Recollections. 

octogenarian gentleman and a septuagena- 
rian lady (his wife) cannot be too cautious 
of engaging in bold, daring, and hazardous 
enterprises without an object of public good." 
The letters are all of a private and entertain- 
ing" character : Pierce's letter is the touching 
one to James T. Fields to which I have 
already referred in connection with the death 
of Hawthorne; the Lincoln letter is the 
famous one of April 9, 1862, containing in- 
structions to General McClellan and con- 
cluding with the underscored words, " But 
you must act ;" and General Grant is repre- 
sented by the noted letter he wrote me, June 
6, 1877, from London. This is the letter, 
fourteen pages in length, which I telegraphed 
to the London Times. 

Autograph letters of Andrew Johnson are 
very hard to obtain, — harder than the letters 
of any other President. Letters written by 
his secretary and merely signed by himself 
are common enough. I have been enabled, 
however, to secure quite a store of Johnson's 
original manuscripts, including the account- 
books he kept while a tailor. They are full 
of droll expressions. The letter I have 
selected to represent him in the volume of 
the Presidents is an interesting communica- 
tion to his friend Major (afterwards General) 



Library Treasures, 67 

Sam Milligan. It is ill written, and notable 
for its odd misspelling and its frank political 
gossip. It breathes a feverish anxiety for 
the action of the Southern leaders, and hopes 
" there is still intelligence enough and virtue 
in the country sufficient to save it." " As 
you say," he writes, "they" (meaning the 
"treasonable men") " have given me ' thun- 
der' in some places." 

Perhaps his nearest friend was the Hon. 
Samuel J. Randall, who fairly lived at the 
White House during Johnson's stormy 
administration. Yet, as illustrating the 
scarcity of Johnson's autograph letters, 
even Mr. Randall has none in his possession. 
I have three addressed to Major Milligan 
which are full of entertaining chat about 
politics. 

But haven't I talked enough about my 
friends? For these books and manuscripts 
are as much mv friends as human beings. 
And I had almost forgotten the clocks. I 
have a collection of nearly fifty in various 
places, and it has been said that a whole 
history of clock- and watchmaking might 
be written from a study of them. The most 
important clock in my possession is the one 
constructed by David Rittenhouse, the great 
astronomer, for a rich citizen of colonial 



68 Recollections, 

Philadelphia. It now stands in my office. 
Barton, in his Life of Rittenhouse, gives its 
interesting pedigree. There is attached to 
it the mechanism of a musical clock, besides 
an accurate little planetarium, placed on its 
face above the dial-plate. It was made for 
Mr. Joseph Potts, who paid six hundred and 
forty dollars for it ; in the spring of 1774 it 
was purchased by Mr. Thomas Prior, who 
refused GTeneral Sir William Howe's offer 
of one hundred and twenty guineas for it, 
shortly before the evacuation of Philadelphia 
in 1778, and another offer of the Spanish 
Minister of eight hundred dollars, made with 
a view of presenting it to his sovereign. 
After Mr. Prior's death, in 1801, it became 
the property of Professor Barton, the biog- 
rapher of Rittenhouse, and from him passed 
into the possession of the late James Swain, 
at the sale of whose effects I bought it in 
October, 1879. 

But the mention of that office of mine, 
about which so much has been written, must 
not tempt me into further talking. What- 
ever it may be to others, it is hallowed for 
me by a thousand associations. Look any 
way I will, a familiar face confronts me : on 
this side Bishop Simpson, on that Dean 
Stanley and Dickens; over there my old 



Library Treasures. 69 

friends Robert C. Winthrop and General 
Grant; faces of men and women, — of Mis- 
son and Modjeska; of Mme. Bernhardt, — 
a portrait painted by herself. 

This is a fitting place to stop. Just one 
parting reflection. If asked what, as the 
result of my experience, is the greatest 
pleasure in life, I should say, doing good to 
others. Not a strikingly original remark, 
perhaps; but seemingly the most difficult 
thing in the world is to be prosperous and 
generous at the same time. During the war 
I asked a very rich man to contribute some 
money to a certain relief fund. He shook his 
head. " Childs," he said, " I can't give you 
anything. I have worked too hard for my 
money." That is just it. Being generous 
grows on one just as being mean does. The 
disposition to give and to be kind to others 
should be inculcated and fostered in children. 
It seems to me that is the way to improve 
the world and make happy the people w T ho 
are in it. 



CHAPTER IV. 

GENERAL GRANT. 

Personal Characteristics — The Electoral Commission — 
His Simplicity — Domestic Life. 

General Grant was one of the truest and 
most congenial friends I ever had. We first 
met in 1863, after the victory of Vicksburg. 
The general and Mrs. Grant had come to 
Philadelphia to make arrangements to put 
their children at school in Burlington, New 
Jersey. From that time until his death our 
intimacy grew. In his life three qualities 
were conspicuously revealed, — justice, kind- 
ness, and firmness. 

Seeing General Grant frequently for more 
than twenty years, I had abundant oppor- 
tunity to notice these qualities. We lived 
at Long Branch on adjoining properties, on 
the same land, without any division, and 
I may say there never was a day when we 
were together there on which either I was 
not in his house or he in mine. He would 
70 



General Grant. 71 

often come over and breakfast or dine with 
me. I never saw him in the field, though I 
corresponded with him during the war, and 
whenever an. opportunity presented itself he 
would come to Philadelphia for the purpose 
of seeing his family at Burlington, and would 
often stay with me, and in that way he made 
a great many friends. That was as early 
as 1863. He always seemed to enjoy his 
visits here, as they gave him rest during the 
time he was in the army. These visits to 
Philadelphia were continued after he became 
President, and he always found recreation 
and pleasure in them. 

Much has been published about General 
Grant, but there are many things I have not 
seen stated, and one is that he had consid- 
erable artistic taste and talent. He painted 
very well. One of his paintings, twelve by 
eighteen inches, he gave to his friend the 
late Hon. A. E. Borie, of Philadelphia, who 
was the Secretary of the Navy in his first 
Cabinet. That picture is, I believe, one of 
the two that he is known to have painted. 
On the death of Mr. Borie it was presented 
by his family to Mrs. Grant, and the engrav- 
ing of it was made from the original sent 
to me for the purpose by Colonel Fred. D. 
Grant. Of the other painting there is no 



72 Recollections. 

trace. General Grant stood very high with 
his professor of drawing at West Point, and 
if he had persevered in that line might, it 
has always seemed to me, have made a good 
artist. He was throughout his cadetship apt 
in mathematics and drawing. The picture 
alluded to is that of an Indian chief, at a 
trading-post in the Northwest, exchanging 
skins and furs with a group of traders and 
trappers. The Indian stands in the foregound 
and is the central object, — a noble figure, 
well painted, and in full and characteristic 
costume. I have often seen the painting, 
which has been very much admired. The 
general took a good deal of pride in it 
himself. 

General Grant was not an ardent student. 
Early in life he was somewhat of a novel- 
reader, but latterly he read history, biog- 
raphy, and travels. He was a careful reader, 
and remembered everything he read. He 
was a great reader of newspapers. I recall 
an incident which happened while we were 
at Long Branch, just after General Sher- 
man's Memoirs had been published. Re- 
ferring to the work, I asked him if he had 
read it. He said he had not had time to do 
so. One of the persons present observed, 
" Why, general, you won't find much in it 



General Grant. 73 

about yourself. Sherman doesn't seem to 
think you were in the war." The general 
said, " I don't know ; I have seen some ad- 
verse criticisms, but I am going to read it 
and judge the book for myself." 

After he had perused the work carefully 
and attentively, I asked him what he thought 
of it. " Well," he said, " it has done me 
full justice. It has given me more credit 
than I deserve. Any criticism I might make 
would be that I think Sherman has not done 
justice to Logan, Blair, and other volunteer 
generals, whom he calls political generals. 
These men did their duty faithfully, and 
I never believe in imputing motives to 
people." 

General Sherman had sent to me the 
proof-sheets of that portion of the Memoirs 
relating to General Grant before the book 
was published, and asked if I had any sug- 
gestions to make, and if I thought he had 
been just to the general. I informed Gen- 
eral Grant that I had read these proof-sheets, 
and that I thought, as he did, that General 
Sherman had done him full justice. General 
Grant had the highest opinion of General 
Sherman as a military man, and always en- 
tertained a great personal regard for him. 
He was always magnanimous, particularly 

D 7 



74 Recollections. 

to his army associates. He was a man who 
rarely used the pronoun I in conversation 
when speaking of his battles. 

There is an amusing little incident I re- 
call, a jpropos of a large painting of General 
Sherman on his " March to the Sea," which 
hangs in the hall of my Long Branch house, 
and which was painted by Kauffmann. Sher- 
man sits in front of the tent, in a white 
shirt, without coat or vest. The picture 
shows a camp-fire in front, and the moon- 
light in the rear of the tents. The criticism 
of General Grant when he first saw it was, 
" That is all very fine ; it looks like Sher- 
man ; but he never wore a boiled shirt there, 
I am sure." 

While living at Long Branch few Confed- 
erate officers who visited the place failed to 
call upon General Grant. He was always 
glad to see them, and he invariably talked 
over with them the incidents and results of 
the war. The general held in high estima- 
tion General Joseph E. Johnston, and always 
spoke of him as one of the very best of the 
Southern generals. At one of my dinners 
I had the pleasure of getting Johnston, 
Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan together. 

With regard to election matters General 
Grant was a close observer, and had a won- 



General Grant 75 

clerful judgment respecting results. One 
particular case may be cited. During the 
canvass of his second term (towards the 
latter part of it) there began to be doubts 
throughout the country of his election. 
Senator Wilson, who was then running on 
the ticket for Vice-President, and who was 
a man of the people and had had a good 
deal of experience in election matters for 
forty years, made an extensive tour through 
the country, and came to my house, just 
afterwards, very despondent. He went over 
the ground and said that the result was in 
a great deal of doubt. I hastened to see 
General Grant, and told him of this feeling, 
particularly as it impressed Senator Wilson. 
The general said nothing, but sent for a 
map of the United States. He laid the map 
on the table, went over it with a pencil, and 
said, " We will carry this State, that State, 
and that State/' until he nearly covered the 
whole United States. It occurred to me he 
might as well put them all in, and I ventured 
the remonstrance, " I think it would not be 
policy to talk that way; the election now is 
pretty near at hand." When the election 
came, the result was that Grant carried every 
State that he had said he would, — a predic- 
tion made in the face of the feeling through- 



76 Recollections. 

out the country that the Republican cause 
was growing weaker, and in spite of the fact 
that the candidate for Vice-President on the 
ticket with Grant, who was deeply interested 
in the election, had visited various parts of 
the country, South and West, and had come 
back apprehensive and dispirited. 

This mention of Henry Wilson reminds 
me that when Lord Houghton (Richard 
Monckton Millies) was my guest in Philadel- 
phia, he asked me to show him a " typical 
American." I told him that Vice-President 
Wilson was the man he was seeking, — that 
he illustrated most admirably, in his astonish- 
ing career from a shoemaker's bench to the 
presiding chair of the Senate, the possibili- 
ties of American citizenship. I sent for Mr. 
Wilson, and the two men spent some days 
together at my house. Shortly after, Wilson 
was stricken down with illness, and died in 
the room of the Vice-President in the Capitol 
building at Washington. 

General Grant was staying with me in 
Philadelphia at the time of the Tilden and 
Hayes campaign, and on the morning of the 
momentous day after the election, when the 
returns gave Tilden a majority of all the 
electors, he accompanied me to my office. 
After a few moments an eminent Republican 



General Grant 77 

Senator and one or two other leading Repub- 
licans walked in, and they went over the 
returns. One of these leaders, notwithstand- 
ing the returns, said, "Hayes is elected," 
an opinion in which the others coincided. 
General Grant listened to them, but said 
nothing. After they had settled the matter 
in their own minds, he said, " Gentlemen, it 
looks to me as if Mr. Tilden is elected." 

When the contention on this point took 
such bitter and angry form and excited so 
much hot blood, the more conservative and 
the wiser men in Congress, like Randall, 
Garfield, Abram 8. Hewitt, and Kasson in 
the House, and Edmunds, Bayard, and 
Conkling in the Senate, seeing the necessity 
of adopting some quieting and reassuring 
measures, began to consider what ultimately 
took form in the Electoral Commission. 
About this time General Grant asked me 
to make him a visit. He had patriotically 
espoused the proposal for an amicable adjust- 
ment of the threatening dispute in any prac- 
tical form, and warmly favored the idea of 
an Electoral Commission. When I got to 
the "White House he said, " This matter is 
very complicated, and the people will not be 
satisfied unless something is done in regard 
to it which will appeal to their sense of 



78 Recollections. 

justice. Now," he continued, "I have 
thought of an Electoral Commission, but 
the leaders of the party are opposed to it, 
which I am sorry to see. They say that if 
an Electoral Commission is appointed we 
might as well count in Mr. Tilden. I would 
rather have Mr. Tilden than that the Repub- 
licans should have a President who could be 
stigmatized as a fraud. If I were Mr. Hayes, 
I would not have the office unless my claim 
to it were settled in some way outside the 
Senate. This matter is opposed by the lead- 
ing Republicans in the House and Senate 
and throughout the country." 

President Grant invited several leading 
Republican Senators to dine with him to 
meet me and to get their views. He said to 
me, " You see the feeling here. I find them 
almost universally opposed to anything like 
an Electoral Commission." I named a lead- 
ing Democrat in the House (Hon. Samuel J. 
Randall), who was one of the most promi- 
nent men in the country, a man of large 
influence and of great integrity of character, 
and whom it would be well to see. I sent 
for Mr. Randall to come to the White House 
to see me, and put the dilemma to him, as 
follows: "It is very hard for the President 
and very embarrassing to men on his own 



General Grant 79 

side that this matter does not seem to find 
favor with them, besides having Democratic 
opposition. Republicans think they might 
as well count Tilden in as to agree to an 
Electoral Commission ; but as the feeling 
throughout the country demands as honest 
a count of the vote as possible, this Electoral 
Commission ought to be appointed." There 
was every prospect that the great majority 
of the Democrats would ultimately support 
the measure, though chafing and angry 
under what they appeared to regard as a 
great wrong to them and to the country. 

Mr. Randall was Speaker of the House at 
the time. His language in reply made it 
manifest that he felt it his duty to exert in 
all proper ways his powerful influence for 
a peaceful adjustment. He was careful in 
speech, for he evidently realized if an Elec- 
toral Commission was created bv law that 

»/ 

he, as presiding officer of the House of 
Representatives, would have to see, in part 
at least, that such law was faithfully carried 
out, — a task which he executed with firmness 
amid an excited assembly. 

General Grant, however, did send for Sen- 
ator Conkling, and said, with deep earnest- 
ness, " This matter is a serious one, and the 
people feel it very deeply. I think this Elec- 



80 Recollections. 

toral Commission ought to be appointed." 
Conkling answered, " Mr. President, Sen- 
ator Morton" (who was then the acknowl- 
edged leader of the Senate) " is opposed to 
it and opposed to your efforts ; but if you 
wish the Commission carried, I can help 
to do it." Grant said, " I wish it done." 
Thereupon Mr. Conkling took hold of the 
measure and contributed his powerful aid 
in putting it through the Senate. 

Few persons not in public life understood 
fully at the time how near the country was to 
another civil war, and of course had no ade- 
quate appreciation of the vital service done 
by the statesmen named above, and by those 
of both parties who patriotically stood up in 
their support. But the peril was imminent, 
and the people of the country owe to all of 
them a great debt of gratitude, — and espe- 
cially to Messrs. Randall, Edmunds, Conk- 
ling, and General Grant. 

General Patterson, of Philadelphia, who 
had been an intimate friend of President 
Jackson, and a life-long Democrat, was 
also sent for at that time by President 
Grant. General Patterson had large es- 
tates in the South, and a great deal of in- 
fluence with the Democrats, and particularly 
with Southern Democrats. He was then up- 



General Grant. 81 

wards of eighty, but he went to "Washington 
and remained one or two weeks with Presi- 
dent Grant, working hard to accomplish the 
purpose in view. After the bill had passed 
and while it was awaiting his signature, 
General Grant went to a State Fair in 
Maryland upon the day it should have 
been signed, and there was much perturba- 
tion about it. I was telegraphed by those in- 
terested that General Grant was absent, and 
that they were anxious about the signing. I 
replied that they might consider the bill as 
good as signed. The President returned to 
AV^ashington that night and put his name to 
the document. 

Just before General Grant started on his 
journey around the world he was spending 
some days with me, and at a dinner with Mr. 
A. J. Drexel, Colonel A. K. McClure, and my- 
self, he reviewed the contest over the creation 
of the Electoral Commission very fully and 
with rare candor. The chief significance of 
his view lay in the fact, as he stated it, that he 
expected from the beginning until the final 
judgment that the electoral vote of Louisiana 
would be awarded to Tilden. He spoke 
of South Carolina and Oregon as justly be- 
longing to Hayes, of Florida as reasonably 
doubtful, and of Louisiana as for Tilden. 
/ 



82 Recollections. 

General Grant acted in good faith through- 
out the whole affair. It has been said that 
the changing of the complexion of the court 
threw the office into Hayes's hands, and that 
if the court had remained as it was, Tilden 
would have been declared President. Gen- 
eral Grant was the soul of honor in this 
matter, and no one ever hinted that he was 
unfair or untruthful in any way. I, for one, 
do not believe that he could possibly tell a 
lie or act deceitfully. 

There is another point in politics not gen- 
erally known. General Garfield, during his 
canvass, became very much demoralized. 
He was fearful that the Republicans would 
not carry Indiana, and was doubtful whether 
they would carry Ohio. In that emergency 
urgent appeals were made to General Grant, 
and he at once threw himself into the breach. 
He saw his strong personal friends and told 
them they must help. There was one very 
influential man, Senator Conkling, whom 
General Grant sent for and informed that 
he must turn in and assist. He at first de- 
clined, being hard pressed with professional 
engagements, but at General Grant's urgent 
solicitation finally entered the field and con- 
tributed handsomely to the victory. In order 
to do so he was compelled to return to clients 



General Grant 83 

seventeen thousand five hundred dollars, 
which had been paid him as retaining fees 
in cases to be tried in October during his 
absence. General Grant went into the can- 
vass with might and main. The tide was 
turned, and it was through General Grant's 
individual efforts, seconded by those of his 
strong personal friends, who did not feel anj T 
particular interest in the election, that Gar- 
field was successful. 

General Grant never by w r ord or by letter 
suggested to any one that he would like to 
be nominated for a third term. Neither Mr. 
Conkling nor General Logan nor Senator 
Cameron had any assurance from him in 
any way that he wished the nomination, 
and they proceeded in their contest for it 
without any authority from him whatever. 
His heart was not on a third term at all. 
He had had enough of politics. After his 
second term he told me, " I feel like a boy 
out of school." At first General Grant in- 
tended to decline. In conversation with me 
he said, "It is very difficult to decline a thing 
which has never been offered;" and before 
he left this country for the West Indies, I 
said, " General, you leave this matter in the 
hands of your friends." He knew I was op- 
posed to a third term. His political friends, 



84 Recollections. 

however, were in favor of it, not merely as 
friends, but because they thought he was the 
only man who could be elected by the Re- 
publicans. There is not a line of his in ex- 
istence in which he expresses any desire to 
have that nomination. Towards the last, 
when the canvass became very hot, I sup- 
pose his natural feeling was that he would 
like to win. But he never laid any plans. 
He never encoui^ged or abetted anything 
looking towards a third-term movement. 

General Grant was very magnanimous to 
those who differed with him, and when I 
asked him what distressed him most in his 
political life he said, " To be deceived by 
those I trusted." He had a great many 
distresses. 

Of his quick perception in financial mat- 
ters I remember a striking instance. On 
one of the great financial questions — the 
Inflation Bill, pending before Congress — he 
was consulting with Mr. A. J. Drexel, of 
Philadelphia, whom he regarded as one of 
his strongest personal friends. In Septem- 
ber, 1873, the general had gone to New 
York, and had listened for a day to appeals 
from inflationists to expand the currency by 
issuing the forty-four millions of greenbacks 
then in the Treasury. He patiently heard 



General Grant 85 

their arguments, but refused their request. 
Still, he was so strongly impressed with cer- 
tain views held by many of the ablest men 
in the country who had opinions on the sub- 
ject different from his own, that he stated 
them to Mr. Drexel. Mr. Drexel combated 
these opinions, and as the result of that dis- 
cussion the general adopted his views; and 
when the measure to which I allude was 
laid before him, he returned it to Congress 
with his disapproval. Here was a subject 
he had considered, as he thought, fully, but 
w T hen new light was given to him by Mr. 
Drexel, whom he knew to be a well-in- 
formed, conservative, unselfish, and reliable 
man, and an experienced and able financier, 
and who possessed the public confidence, he 
changed his opinions, and wrote the veto 
message of April 22, 1874. Congratulations 
immediately poured in upon him from all 
parts of the country, and even the strongest 
advocates of the bill acknowledged that the 
President's final judgment was right, and 
that in this matter especially he was im- 
measurably superior in statesmanship to the 
Congressional majority. 

A great many people had an idea that 
General Grant was very much set in his 
opinions; but, while he had decided opin- 
8 



86 Recollections. 

ions, at the same time he was alwaj T s open 
to conviction. Very often in talking with 
him he would make no observation, and 
when one had s;ot through it would be difli- 
cult to tell exactly whether he had grasped 
the subject or not, but in a very short time, 
if the matter was alluded to again, it would 
be found that he had comprehended it 
thoroughly. His power of observation and 
mental assimilation was remarkable. 

Of his simplicity and unpretentiousness I 
will give an illustration. During one of his 
drives with me through Fairmount Park, 
Philadelphia, I called his attention to* the 
little log cabin which we were passing on 
one of the main avenues, and which was his 
headquarters during the war. With a merry 
twinkle of his eye he said, " I can tell you 
a little story connected with that cabin. For 
a long time my officers were urging me to 
let them put up a building for my headquar- 
ters. My headquarters had previously been 
on the field and in the saddle, and I had 
never thought of any other. I begun to 
suspect that their solicitude for my comfort 
was not altogether disinterested, and told 
them they might put up a small affair. Al- 
most instantly, as if by magic, headquarters 
grew up in every direction. So it turned 



General Grant. 87 

out that they were partly thinking of their 
own comfort." There was no " nonsense" 
about him. He was always neat in dress, 
but not fastidious. He said he got cured of 
his pride in regimentals when he came home 
from West Point. 

There was a slight tinge of superstition 
in his composition. I remember hearing 
him say that he never would turn back if he 
could possibly avoid it, and he illustrated 
the remark by telling me of an incident that 
occurred when he was a boy living in the 
country. He had started on horseback to 
go to the mill, and while musing he had 
passed the road that led to it; instead of re- 
tracing his steps, he drove a long distance 
around, so that he could reach the mill with- 
out going back. Was not this trait one of 
the secrets of his success in the war ? When 
I spoke to my old friend, Paul Du Chaillu, 
in regard to this peculiarity of General 
Grant, he replied that it was an old super- 
stition, and that he could trace it to the 
Vikings of the ninth and tenth centuries, 
many of their great warriors believing in it. 

General Grant, surrounded by those he 
knew well, always did two-thirds of the talk- 
ing. He was a reticent and diffident man in 
general company, and it was not until he 



88 Recollections. 

was out of the Presidency that he became a 
public speaker. He told a story that he was 
once notified that he was expected to make a 
speech in reply to a sentiment given him, and 
he looked it over and wrote his answer care- 
fully, but when he got up he was stricken 
dumb. He utterly lost himself, and could not 
say a word. After that he did not want to 
hear what was going to be said, and never 
prepared anything. Hon. Levi P. Morton 
told me that, in going to Liverpool and Man- 
chester with General Grant, a committee 
came down to meet the general and brought 
a report of what they intended to say, for his 
inspection. He said, " No, I have had one 
experience in that line, I don't want to see 
it." The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop writes 
to me, " What you say of his early reticence 
reminds me that I had to make two speeches 
for him in the early days of the Peabody 
Education Trust. One of them was in the 
tobacco-factory at Baltimore, and the other 
on my door-steps here at Brookline, when 
our village band came up to serenade him. 
He would not go to the door unless I would 
promise to acknowledge the compliment for 
him." 

The last speech he ever made was at Ocean 
Grove. Governor Oglesby, of Illinois, was 



General Grant. 89 

staying with him at his cottage at Long 
Branch. George H. Stuart, who was one 
of his earliest and dearest friends, came up 
to ask him if he w T ould go down to Ocean 
Grove. Prior to this invitation he had not 
appeared in public since his misfortunes. He 
was then lame, from a fall on the ice as he 
was leaving his carriage at his residence in 
New York on Christmas-eve, and was com- 
pelled to use crutches until his death. Upon 
reaching Ocean Grove he found ten thou- 
sand people assembled. They rose en masse 
and cheered with a vigor and unanimity very 
uncommon in a religious assemblage. This 
touched him profoundly, for it was evidence 
that the popular heart was still with him. 
He arose to make acknowledgment, but after 
saying a few words he utterly broke down, 
and the tears trickled down his cheeks. 
That w r as the last time he ever appeared in 
public. 

Speaking of Ocean Grove, General Grant 
always evinced great interest in its progress 
and success, and often took part in the re- 
ligious exercises there. "While at Long 
Branch he and his family attended the Meth- 
odist church in the village, and since his 
death a large memorial window of stained 
glass has been placed in the chancel. He 

8* 



90 Recollections. 

sometimes went to the Episcopal chapel at 
Elberon, in which a brass memorial tablet 
has been placed. It bears the following 
inscription, prepared, at my request, by the 
Hon. Robert C. Winthrop : 

IN MEMORY OF 

The Virtues and Valor 
of 
ULYSSES S. GEANT, 
General of the Union Army, 
and 
President of the United States. 
Born 27th April, 1822. 
Died 23d July, 1885. 
A few of his friends erect this tablet, as a token of 
their affection, while the whole country does homage 
to his career and character. 

I remember that in 1884 I was notified 
that a number of scientists would meet in 
Montreal from all parts of the world to at- 
tend a convention. Sir William Thomson, 
Lord Rayleigh, and others, who were to be 
my guests, asked whether I would present 
them to General Grant. Some of them had 
met him. Of course I was very glad to 
introduce them. I said to him in the morn- 
ing, " General, the scientists from Canada 
are coming down here, and they are very 
anxious to pay their respects to you. " " Oh," 



General Grant 91 

he replied, " I have met some of these people 
abroad : I will be very glad to see them." 
They came to my house, and we walked 
across the lawn to the general's. He sat on 
the piazza, not being able to stand alone 
without the use of crutches, and was pre- 
sented to every one of them, shaking hands 
with each. He would say to one gentleman, 
" How are you, professor ? I met you in 
Liverpool ;" and to another, " Why, how T 
are you? I met you in London;" and, "I 
am glad to see you; I met you in Manches- 
ter." So he recognized each of these visitors 
as soon as he laid eyes on him. Many of 
them said to me afterwards, in speaking of 
the incident, " Why, I only met him casually 
with a party of people." 

This power of recognition was remarkable. 
I subsequently asked him whether he had 
lost the power; he answered, " No, I have 
not lost the power. If I fix my mind on a 
person, I never forget him; but I see so many 
that I don't always do it." I can give a re- 
markable instance of his memory of persons. 
During one of the times that he was staying 
with me in Philadelphia we were walking 
down Chestnut Street together, and just as 
we arrived in front of a large jeweller's 
establishment a lady came out of the store 



92 Recollections. 

and was about to enter her carriage. General 
Grant walked up to her, shook hands with 
her, and put her in the carriage. " General, 
did you know that lady ?" " Oh, yes," he 
replied; "I know her." "Where did you 
see her ?" " Well, I saw her a good many 
years ago out in Ohio at a boarding-school. 
She was one of the girls there." " Did you 
never see her before or since?" He said, 
"No." The lady was the daughter of a 
very prominent Ohio man, Judge Jewett, 
and the next time we met she said, " I sup- 
pose you told General Grant who I was." I 
replied, " I did not." " Why, that is very 
remarkable," she answered, in a tone of sur- 
prise; "I was one of two or three hundred 
girls, and only saw him at school. I have 
never seen him since." 

I remember an amusing incident which 
occurred when the English banker Mr. 
Hope, with his wife and three children, w T as 
visiting me at Long Branch. The children 
wanted to see the general, so one day they 
were taken over and presented to him. 
When they came back and were asked 
whether they had seen him, one of them 
replied, in a rather disappointed tone, " Yes ; 
but he had no crown" 

During one of his visits at Wootton, my 



General Grant. 93 

country-seat, he planted, on October 16, 
1882, an oak, and always held it in remem- 
brance. Just before his death he asked me 
if the tree was flourishing. One day when 
we were at Wootton together he remarked 
what a beautiful place it was, adding that it 
seemed a pity to him that its beauty should 
be spoiled by bad roads. Acting on this 
hint, the roads round about the neighbor- 
hood were Telforded. 



CHAPTEE V. 

GENERAL GRANT. — (CONTINUED.) 

Fondness for Horses — The " Personal Memoirs" — The 
Indian Commission — Generals Halleck and Fitz- John 
Porter — Grant's Fatal Disease. 

General Grant was very fond of horses, 
and was a thorough horseman. While a 
cadet at West Point he was always called 
upon whenever a horse was unmanageable, 
and he never failed to subdue the most 
vicious or fractious animal. In early life 
he rode a great deal, but after he left the 
army he generally drove a pair of spirited 
horses ; sometimes, when he had a favorite 
fast horse, he drove singly. With all his 
liking for horses, he could never be induced 
to attend a race, or to bet on a horse. At 
agricultural fairs of course he witnessed and 
enjoyed seeing horses trotting or running. 
The last horse General Grant owned and 
drove was the mare " Silver," now twenty 
years old and in good condition. I have her 
at Wootton, with her two colts, Julia and 

94 



General Grant 95 

Ida, sired by " Kentucky Prince," the horse 
for which lift} 7 thousand dollars were offered. 
On his sick-bed the general longed to see 
them. 

As to General Grant's power of thinking 
and of expressing his thoughts, he wrote 
with great facility and clearness. His Cen- 
tennial Address, at the opening of the Ex- 
hibition in 1876, was prepared at my house, 
and there were only two or three corrections 
in the whole manuscript. Soon after his 
arrival in England he wrote me a letter of 
fourteen pages, giving an account of his 
reception in that country. The same post 
that brought the letter contained another 
from Mr. John Walter, proprietor of the 
London Times, saying that he had seen our 
mutual friend General Grant on several oc- 
casions, and wondered how he was pleased 
with his reception in England. The letter 
which I had received was so a propos that I 
telegraphed it over that very clay to the 
London Times, — fourteen pages of manu- 
script, — without one word of alteration, and 
that journal next morning published this 
letter with an editorial on it. It happened 
that the cablegram arrived in London the 
very night the general was going through 
the London Times office to view the establish- 



96 Recollections. 

ment. In the letter he said he thought the 
English people admirable, and he was deeply 
sensible of the unexpected attention and 
kindness shown him. The letter contained 
these lines, " It has always been my desire 
to see all jealousy between England and the 
United States abated, and all sores healed 
up. Together they are more powerful for 
the spread of commerce and civilization 
than all others combined, and can do more 
to remove the cause of wars by creating 
mutual interests that would be so much dis- 
turbed by war, than all other nations." The 
letter was written privately to me, he not 
supposing that it would ever be put in print, 
and not one word, as I have said, had to be 
altered. I cite this to show General Grant's 
facility in writing. 

The necessity of earning some money in- 
duced him to write the series of admirable 
articles for the Century Magazine. Upon 
their appearance I urged him, as did other 
friends of his, to expand them into a sym- 
metrical and continuous narrative. Thus, 
had it not been for his financial reverses, 
it is doubtful whether American litera- 
ture would have been enriched with his 
" Personal Memoirs," a book of surpassing 
interest, which has enjoyed the largest cir- 



General Grant 97 

dilation and yielded the largest copyright 
(over four hundred and fifteen thousand 
dollars) of any work issued in modern times. 
Just before his death the general requested 
Mrs. Grant to send me his " Memoirs," and 
as soon as the work was published Colonel 
Grant sent me a handsomely bound copy 
with a very kind note. 

The man who was perhaps nearer to him 
than any other in his Cabinet was Hon. 
Hamilton Fish. Grant had the greatest re- 
gard for his judgment. It was more than 
friendship — it was genuine affection which 
existed between them, and General Grant 
always appreciated Mr. Fish's remaining in 
his Cabinet, because Mr. Fish, had he been 
governed by his personal interests, would 
not have done so. I know that it was 
General Grant's desire to have him his 
successor in the Presidency. Mrs. Fish's 
influence and example were \ery great in 
Washington, and she left an impress on 
society there which is felt to this day. She 
was a typical American woman. A strong 
friendship existed between Mrs. Grant and 
Mrs. Fish, and their united kind acts, and 
many good deeds, will be long remembered 
in Washington. 

When, in 1865, after the surrender of 



98 Recollections. 

General Lee at Appomattox, General Grant 
went to Washington to superintend the dis- 
bandment of the army, he found the national 
capital, as it always had been, a city of mag- 
nificent distances. Its long, broad avenues 
and streets seemed by their rough condition 
to increase and render more conspicuous 
these distances. The tramp of cavalry, the 
almost continuous movement of trains of 
heavy artillery and ammunition- and bag- 
gage-wagons had, assisted by the recurring 
winters' alternate freezings and thawings, 
reduced them to a condition little better 
than that of the rough, rude trails left by 
the Army of the Potomac on its march 
upon the Confederate capital. 

They were still in this neglected state in 
1868 when General Grant was elected Presi- 
dent, and when, in the following year, he 
was inaugurated, he manifested the strongest 
public interest in designs for their improve- 
ment, and spoke to me very strongly on the 
subject. Indeed, it may justly be said, that 
the concern he evinced regarding the noble 
avenues and spacious streets of Washington 
was the inspiring cause which eventually led 
to their improvement. The subject was an 
engrossing one to him, and he made it the 
frequent theme of his conversation. Gen- 



General Gi % ant. 99 

eral Grant's far-seeing wisdom was conspic- 
uously demonstrated in this matter, lie 
maintained that the national capital should, 
and under favorable conditions would, be- 
come the winter Saratoga — the social centre 
— of the entire country. He felt so strongly 
and spoke with such earnestness regarding 
the necessity of improving the city as to 
finally impress the importance of it upon 
the minds of those who had the authority 
to give practical realization to his sugges- 
tions. 

Inspired by his public spirit and the inter- 
est he showed in its consummation, the work 
of improvement was begun, and when it was 
finished, upon the intelligent, generous plan 
which was adopted, the avenues and streets 
which had been as country roads, ploughed 
into deep ruts by artillery, and roughened 
by the action of innumerable frosts and suns, 
were so well graded and paved as to vie with 
those of the noblest highways of Old World 
capitals. Washington is still a city of mag- 
nificent distances, but so great and many 
were the improvements made during Presi- 
dent Grant's administration as to suggest not 
so much distance as magnificence, for as its 
noble highways were extended, broadened, 
made smooth and pleasant to the sight, 



100 Recollections. 

noble mansions were built upon them, and 
General Grant's prediction of the capital 
becoming the winter social centre of the 
country was realized. The imposing im- 
provements which were made, and which 
were largely inspired by him, render Wash- 
ington a particularly attractive city to which 
the representatives of the nation's wealth and 
refinement are drawn. There was nothing 
more characteristic of General Grant than 
his public spirit, which was so strongly dis- 
played in the transformation from incon- 
venience and ugliness to comfort and beauty 
of the avenues and streets of Washington. 

With regard to the treatment of the 
Indians, he informed me that, as a young 
lieutenant, he had been thrown among them, 
and had seen the unjust treatment they re- 
ceived at the hands of the white men. He 
then made up his mind that if he ever had 
any influence or power it should be exercised 
to try to ameliorate their condition. The 
Indian Commission was his own idea. He 
wished to appoint the very best men in the 
United States. He selected William Welsh, 
of Philadelphia, William E. Dodge, of New 
York, Felix Brunot, of Pittsburgh, Colonel 
Robert Campbell, of St. Louis, and George 
H. Stuart, of Philadelphia. They composed 



General Grant. 101 

the Indian Commission which he had worked 
hard to establish, and they always could 
count upon him to aid them in every pos- 
sible way. He always took the greatest 
interest in the Commission. Even to his 
last moments he attentively watched its 
progress. It was, at all times, a very diffi- 
cult affair to handle, especially as there was 
a powerful Indian ring to break up. 

He was of a very kindly nature, generous 
to a fault. I would often remonstrate with 
him, and say, "• General, you can't afford to 
do this," and would try to keep people away 
from him. On one occasion, when certain 
persons wanted him to contribute to an im- 
portant matter, which I did not think he 
was able to do, I would not let them go 
near him. He was reached, however, by 
some injudicious person, and he subscribed 
a thousand dollars. 

General Grant venerated his mother, and 
loved his family. He seemed happiest in 
his home circle, surrounded by his devoted 
and loving wife and his children and grand- 
children. I have never seen an instance of 
greater domestic happiness than that which 
existed in the Grant family. Perfect love 
had indeed " cast out fear," and it was 
delightful to see his grandchildren romping 
9* 



102 Recollections. 

with him, and saying just what came up- 
permost in their thoughts in their childish 
innocence. 

General Grant always felt that he had 
been badly treated by General Halleck, but 
he rarely spoke harshly of any one. During 
one of my last visits to him he showed me 
his army orders, which he had kept in books. 
He had a copy of everything he ever did or 
said in regard to army matters. He was 
very careful about that, and had written all 
the orders with his own hand. He pointed 
to one of this large series of books, and said 
that it was fortunate that he had kept these 
things, because several of the orders could 
not be found on any record in the War 
Department. During our long friendship I 
never heard him more than two or three 
times speak unkindly of Halleck, although 
he had been very unjustly treated by him, 
— as is borne out by the records. 

I told him of something that I had learned 
in connection with the officer in charge of 
the war records at Washington. That offi- 
cer had been a strong friend of Halleck, 
and was prejudiced against General Grant, 
and was in the office where all these things 
passed through his hands. But after twenty 
years of examination, he said that there was 



General Grant 103 

not a line relating to Grant which would not 
elevate him in the minds of thinking people. 

It was through me that General Grant 
first went to Long Branch. He always en- 
joyed being there, and said that he had 
never seen a place in all his travels which 
was better suited for a summer residence. 
He drove out twice a day, and knew every 
by-way within twenty miles. It was his 
habit to drive out every morning after 
breakfast for a long distance, and then he 
would come home and read the papers or 
any books he might have on hand. He was 
one of the most companionable of men ; to- 
tally unspoiled by all the honors conferred 
upon him. He was simple, unaffected, and 
attached everybody to him. He was very 
careful in answering his correspondence. 
Most of the letters received were begging 
letters of some kind or other, and I remem- 
ber an incident showing his justness and 
tenderness of heart. 

Once he had two cases of petition. He 
said, " I did a thing to-day that gave me 
great pleasure. There was a poor Irish- 
woman who had a boy in the army, and she 
came down from New York and spent all 
her money. She had lost several of her 
boys in the war, and this one she wished 



1 04 Recollections. 

to get out of the service to help support her. 
I gave her an order, and was very glad to 
do it." But he did not add that he gave her 
also some money, which was the case. " In 
contrast to that there was a lady of a very 
distinguished family of New York, who came 
here and wanted me to remove her son from 
Texas. He was an officer in the army, and 
I told her I could not do that. My rich peti- 
tioner then said, ' Well, could you not remove 
his regiment V This would have involved a 
cost of over one hundred thousand- dollars." 
General Grant did not hesitate a moment to 
refuse a rich woman's unreasonable request, 
but it gave him pleasure to grant the petition 
of a poor friendless Irishwoman. 

He was very kind to the poor, and, in fact, 
to everybody, especially to widows and chil- 
dren of army officers. I gave him the names 
of quite a number of army and navy officers' 
sons for appointment in the navy or army. 
He said, " I am glad to have these. I like 
to appoint army and navy men's children, 
because they have no political influence." 
Nearly all his appointments to the Military 
and Naval Academies were the children of 
deceased army or navy officers, young men 
without influence to get in at West Point or 
Annapolis. There was hardly an army man, 



General Grant 105 

Confederate or Union, who was not a friend 
of General Grant. 

For General Sheridan he had an affection- 
ate regard, and I have often heard him say 
that he thought Sheridan the greatest fighter 
that ever lived, and if there should be an- 
other war he would be the leader. I knew 
that General Sheridan had carefully pre- 
served all the letters he had received from 
General Grant, and I asked Mrs. Sheridan 
to let me have them arranged and bound for 
her, which she did. They make a volume 
of great historical value and interest. 

General Grant was so just that he never 
excited the jealousy or enmity of army men. 
When mistaken there was no man more 
ready to acknowledge himself in error. He 
was always accessible and courteous. He 
show T ed great tenacity in sticking to friends 
longer than he ought to have done. When- 
ever I spoke to him about this he would 
answer, " Well, if I believed all I hear, I 
would believe nearly everybody was bad." 
General Grant would say there was hardly 
anybody who came in contact with him who 
was not traduced, and that he very often had 
to depend upon his own judgment in such 
cases. One of his expressions was, " Never 
desert a friend under fire." 



106 Recollections. 

He rarely alluded to those who had abused 
his confidence, even in conversation with his 
most intimate friends. No matter how much 
a man had injured him, he was wont to say 
that he felt at the end what he might have 
felt at the outset. 

General Grant had the greatest admiration 
for General Joseph E. Johnston, and Johns- 
ton for him ; and when it was first proposed 
to bring up the retiring bill, Johnston, who 
was then in Congress, was to take the initia- 
tive in the matter. The passage of that bill 
gave great gratification to the general. I 
happened to be with him on the 4th of 
March, and said, " General, that bill of 
yours will pass to-day." " Mr. Childs," he 
said, " you know that during the last day of 
a session everything is in a turmoil. Such a 
bill cannot possibly be passed." " Well," I 
said, " Mr. Randall assured me that measure 
would be passed." He answered, "If any- 
body in the world could pass that bill, I think 
Mr. Randall could. But I don't think it is 
at all likely, and I have given up all expec- 
tation." "While I was talking (this was about 
11.30 a.m.), I got a telegram from Mr. A. J. 
Drexel, saying that the bill had passed, and 
the general seemed exceedingly gratified. 

I remarked, " General, the part that some 



General Grant. 107 

of the members took in the matter was not 
justified." " Oh, perhaps they thought they 
were riffht. I have no feeling at all : I am 
only grateful that the measure has been 
passed/' he answered. Mrs. Grant came in, 
and I said, " We have got good news : the 
bill is passed." She cried out, " Hurrah ! 
our old commander is back." In answer to 
a remark that it would be very good if it 
could be dated from the time of o;oin°; out, 
he said, " Oh, no; the law is to elate from 
the time one accepts. In the early part of 
the war I saw in the newspapers that I was 
appointed to a higher rank, and wrote on at 
once and accepted on the strength of the 
newspaper report. In about two months' 
time, through red tape, I got my appoint- 
ment, but received my pay from the time I 
wrote accepting the newspaper announce- 
ment. I saved a month's pay by that." 

As to General Fitz-John Porter's case, I 
spoke to him during the early stage of it, at 
a time when his mind had been prejudiced 
by some around him, and when he was very 
busy. Afterwards, when he looked into the 
matter, he said he was only sorry that he 
had so long delayed making the examina- 
tion he should have made. He felt that if 
ever a man had been treated badly Porter 



108 Recollections. 

was. He had examined the case most care- 
fully, gone over every detail, and was per- 
fectly satisfied that Porter was right. He 
wanted to do everything in his power to 
have him righted, and his only regret was 
that he had neglected the case so long and 
allowed Porter to rest under injustice. I 
had General Porter to meet General Grant 
at dinner, and placed them together, so that 
they could talk over the matter for the first 
time. 

There are few men who would have taken 
a back track as General Grant did so pub- 
licly, so determinedly, and so consistently 
right through. I had several talks with him 
in regard to General Porter, and he was con- 
tinually reiterating his regrets that he had 
not done justice to him when he had the op- 
portunity. He ran counter to a great many 
of his political friends in this matter, but his 
mind was absolutely clear about it. Not one 
man in a thousand wojpld go back on his 
record in such an affair, especially when he 
was not in accord with the Grand Army or 
his strong political friends. General Grant 
went into the question most carefully, and 
his publications show how thoroughly he 
examined the subject, and he never wavered 
after his mind was settled. Then he set to 



General Grant 109 

work to repair the injury done Porter. If 
General Grant had had time to examine the 
case while he was President, he would have 
carried through a measure for the relief of 
Porter. That he had not done so was his 
great regret. He felt that while he had 
power he could have passed it and ought to 
have done so. When General Grant took 
pains and time to look into a subject, no 
amount of personal feeling or friendship for 
others would keep him from doing the right 
thing. He could not be swerved from the 
right in any case. 

Another marked trait of his character was 
his purity in every way. I never heard him 
express an impure thought or make an in- 
delicate allusion. There is nothing I ever 
heard him say that could not be repeated 
in the presence of women. He never used 
profane language. He was very temperate 
in eating and drinking. In his own fam- 
ily, unless guests were present, he seldom 
drank wine. If while he was President 
a man were urged for an appointment, 
and it was shown that he was an immoral 
man, he would not appoint him, no matter 
how great the pressure brought to bear by 
friends. 

He had no fondness for music, nor could 

10 



110 Recollections. 

he remember a tune or note, with perhaps 
the single exception of " Hail to the Chief," 
which he had heard so often during and after 
the war. • His old friend, Hon. Hamilton 
Fish, writes to me, " I do not think that 
the general knew ' Hail to the Chief;' he 
did know, or thought that he knew, 4 Yankee 
Doodle.' " My friend, Mr. Robert C. Win- 
throp, says in a recent letter, " Your allusion 
to his insensibility to music, and to the saying 
of Governor Fish, recalls General Grant's 
remark to me, when I was sitting next to 
him at a concert in Baltimore at the Pea- 
body Institute : ' Why, Mr. Winthrop, I only 
know two tunes. One is Yankee Doodle, 
and the other isn't.' " 

General Grant was robust, blessed with 
general good health, and great powers of 
endurance. He was a small eater, and could 
sleep more or less at any time, or could do 
without sleep and food, for a long period, 
without inconvenience. He never ate any- 
thing rare ; everything had to be thoroughly 
cooked. Some time after the war he told me 
that he thought he was failing physically. 
I asked him why. He answered by saying 
he could no longer do without eating or 
sleeping for forty-eight hours without feel- 
ing it. During the war he often passed two 



General Grant. Ill 

days and nights without tasting food or lying 
down to sleep. 

General Grant would sit in my library 
with four or five others chatting freely, and 
doing perhaps two-thirds of the talking. 
Let a stranger enter whom he did not know, 
and he would say nothing more while the 
stranger remained. That was one peculiar- 
ity of his. He wouldn't talk to people un- 
less he understood them. He possessed a 
great deal of quiet humor, was an excellent 
story-teller, was full of anecdote, and en- 
joyed a good joke. He was always refined, 
and would not tolerate coarseness in others. 
At a dinner-party among intimate friends he 
would lead in the conversation, but any alien 
element would seal his tongue. This great 
shyness or reticence sometimes caused him 
to be misunderstood. 

When his attention was first directed to his 
fatal disease, he told me that he had a dry- 
ness in his throat, which seemed to trouble 
him, and that whenever he ate a peach, a 
fruit of which he was very fond, he always 
suffered pain. I said that Dr. Da Costa, of 
Philadelphia, one of the most eminent physi- 
cians of the country, was coming to Long 
Branch to spend a few days with me ; that he 
was an old friend : and that he would be 



112 Recollections. 

glad to look into the matter. Dr. Da Costa, 
on arriving, went over with me to the gen- 
eral's house, examined his throat carefully, 
gave a prescription, and asked the general 
who his family physician was. He replied, 
Dr. Fordyce Barker, of New York, and he 
was advised to see him at once. I could see 
that the general was suffering a good deal, 
though he was uncomplaining. During the 
summer he several times asked me if I had 
seen Dr. Da Costa, and seemed anxious to 
know exactly what was the matter with him. 
Dr. Da Costa knew at once the disease was 
cancer, and when Dr. Barker came to confer 
with him in regard to General Grant he so 
told him. General Grant, after he got worse, 
said to me, " I want to go to Philadelphia 
and stay a few days with you, and have a 
talk with Dr. Da Costa." He was not afraid 
of the disease after he knew all about it, 
and the last time I saw him, just before he 
went to Mount McGregor, he said, " Now, 
Mr. Childs, I have been twice within half 
a minute of death. I realize it fully, and 
my life was only preserved by the skill and 
attention of my physicians. I have told 
them the next time to let me go." 

The general had great will-power, and the 
determination to finish his book kept him 



General Grant. 113 

up. He quickly made up his mind that his 
disease would prove fatal, but he was reso- 
lute to live until his work was done. He 
said, " If I had been an ordinary man, I 
would have been dead long ago." 

In good health General Grant would 
smoke a dozen very large, strong cigars a 
day ; but he could stop smoking at any time. 
He told me that towards the latter part of 
the summer of 1884 he was smoking fewer 
and milder cigars, perhaps two or three a 
day. In February of 1885 he expected to 
pay me a visit. He wrote, saying, " The 
doctor will not allow me to leave until the 
weather gets warmer. I am now quite well 
in every way, except a swelling of the tongue 
above the root, and the same thing in the 
tonsils just over it. It is very difficult for me 
to swallow enough to maintain my strength, 
and nothing gives me so much pain as to 
swallow water." I asked him about that, 
and he said, " If you could imagine what 
molten lead would be going down your 
throat, that is what I feel when I am swal- 
lowing." In that letter he further said, " I 
have not smoked a cigar since about the 20th 
of November; for a day or two I felt as 
though I would like to smoke, but after that 
I never thought of it." 
h 10* 



114 Recollections. 

General Grant always retained a warm 
interest in West Point, and favored it greatly 
while President. He left a written memo- 
randum requesting that his grandson, Ulysses 
Grant, son of Colonel Fred. D. Grant, should 
be educated at West Point, provided he could 
secure an appointment to enter the Academy 
as a cadet. Speaking on one or two occa- 
sions of the burial of soldiers, he observed 
that his old chief, General Scott, was buried 
at West Point, and that he would like to be 
buried there also. This was some years be- 
fore his death, and mentioned merely in 
casual conversation. I think it might have 
been alluded to incidentally once or twice 
afterwards. 

His wishes in regard to his final resting- 
place may be gathered from the subjoined 
interesting correspondence taken from the 
New York World of September 29, 1889. 

" The World has received the following 
letter from Colonel Frederick D. Grant, 
United States Minister to Austria, relative 
to recent suggestions that the body of his 
father be removed from Eiverside Park. It 
will be read with great interest by all the 
friends of the great general, and gives new 
and pathetic facts concerning General Grant's 
wishes as to his burial-place : 



General Grant. 115 

" U. S. Legation, Vienna, Austria, 

" September 13, 1889. 

" To the Editor of The World : 

" Two evenings ago I received your mes- 
sage by cable, which was as follows : 

" i Press agitating question of removing 
General Grant's remains to Washington or 
Illinois. What is the sentiment of the widow 
and family? The Would.' 

" I have answered you by cable that I 
would write to you in reply. I carried your 
cablegram home with me and read it to my 
mother, who is now visiting me. She and 
I unite in expressing appreciation of the 
interest which is shown by the American 
people in the tomb of General Grant, which 
is now in the city of New York, owing to 
the following circumstances, viz. : 

" About a week before General Grant's 
death he handed me a paper which he indi- 
cated that he would like me to read. I 
found its contents were directions in regard 
to his own burial, the note being in about 
the following words, which I quote from 
memory : ' I have given you directions about 
all of my affairs except my burial. We own 
a burial-lot in the cemetery at St. Louis, and 
I like that city, as it was there I was married 



116 Recollections. 

and lived for many years, and there three 
of my children were born. We also have a 
burial-lot in Galena, and I am fond of Illi- 
nois, from which State I entered the army at 
the beginning of the war. I am also much 
attached to New York, where I have made 
my home for several years past, and through 
the generosity of whose citizens I have been 
enabled to pass my last days without experi- 
encing the pains of pinching want.' The 
last sentence seemed to indicate that a burial- 
lot might be purchased in New York City. 

" After reading this little note I said, ' It 
is most distressing to me, father, that you 
think of this matter, but if we must discuss 
this subject and you desire to have my opin- 
ion, I should say that in case of your death 
Washington would probably be selected for 
the place of your burial.' Father then took 
back the paper he had written me, which he 
tore up. He then retired to his own room, 
but soon returned and handed me another 
little note (at that time he could not speak 
without great pain), which was in substance 
as follows : 4 It is possible that my funeral 
may become one of public demonstration, 
in which event I have no particular choice 
of burial-place ; but there is one thing which 
I would wish you and the family to insist 



General Grant 117 

upon, and that is that, wherever my tomb 
may be, a place shall be reserved for your 
mother at my side.' My own mention of 
Washington seemed to have reminded Gen- 
eral Grant that the nation might wish to take 
part in his funeral. 

" Upon the death of General Grant, July 
23, 1885, many telegrams were immediately 
received, containing offers from various 
places of ground for his last resting-place. 
These telegrams being considered by the 
widow and family, it was soon decided that 
the offer made by New York was the most 
desirable one, as it included the guarantee 
which General Grant had desired before his 
death, — that his wife should be provided 
with a last resting-place by his side, — there- 
fore this offer was accepted. 

" A little later I received a letter from 
General Robert Macfeeley, of Washington, 
containing an authoritative offer of a site in 
the ' Soldiers' Home,' near Washington, as 
the burial-place of my father, at the same 
time promising that my mother and family 
might also be buried there. But already 
the matter had been settled, and my mother 
held the written guarantee of New York's 
mayor that upon her death she should be 
placed beside her husband, General Grant. 



118 Recollections. 

u In a parting letter left to my mother by 
the general he reiterated what he had said 
to me, mentioned several places which might 
be available for his burial, but expressed as 
his one and only desire that she, upon her 
death, should rest at his side. 

" My mother, myself, and all our family 
feel deep gratitude for the delicate and touch- 
ing attentions paid to General Grant's mem- 
ory and to his tomb at ' Riverside' by the 
citizens of New York, as well as by the citi- 
zens of other States, and since the nation 
made his great funeral, and wishes to build 
his tomb, they were and are ready to accede 
to any plan for his tomb which the nation 
may decide is best, provided, of course, that 
his expressed wish be carried out. 

" Most touching of all to my mother are 
the loving tributes which are annually placed 
upon my father's tomb by his old comrades 
of the Grand Army of the Republic and by 
many others from all parts of the country 
which he served during his life. 

"Yours, very sincerely, 

"F. D. Grant." 

On May 17, 1877, General Grant began 
a tour of the world in company with Mrs. 
Grant, that had long been one of their cher- 



General Grant. 1 1 9 

ished schemes. From the day of his depart- 
ure from Philadelphia until his return in the 
autumn of 1879, it was an unceasing ovation 
from people, emperors, and kings and rulers 
of all countries and nationalities. The best 
record of this triumphal progress is to be 
found in the two beautiful volumes, " Around 
the World with General Grant," by John 
Russell Young, who was his companion from 
the start until General Grant returned to the 
Pacific slope. In making his preparations 
for this tour General Grant had no idea of 
the reception that awaited him, and it was 
only on the eve of his departure, while he 
and Mrs. Grant were my guests, that I sug- 
gested the necessity of his taking his uni- 
form and sword. Uniform General Grant 
no longer owned, but one was soon got at 
Wanamaker's, and his swords were all de- 
posited in Washington, but one was hastily 
sent to him. Simple in this as in all his 
tastes and habits, General Grant meant to 
travel as an American citizen. The splendid 
popular demonstration given him by way 
of farewell by the people of Philadelphia 
was, however, significant of the reception 
that awaited him at every stage of his jour- 
ney around the world. When the steamer 
"Indiana" brought him to Liverpool, the 



120 Recollections. 

mayor of that great commercial city formally 
extended its civic hospitalities to the gen- 
eral ; the city of London conferred upon him 
its highest honor, the freedom of the city, 
and this example was followed by several of 
the other chief towns; the Queen and the 
Prince of Wales entertained him and his 
wife, and they were in succession the guests 
of every crowned head through whose do- 
minions they passed. In France and Switz- 
erland, our sister republics, he was heartily 
welcomed, and, although he travelled as a 
private citizen, everywhere he was welcomed 
with distinguished honor. All of this he 
quietly accepted as an evidence of respect 
to his country, for, as he wrote to me, he 
u loved to see our country honored and re- 
spected abroad," and he had helped to make 
it so. In many of the letters which I re- 
ceived from him during his trip around the 
world, the sense of General Grant and of 
Mrs. Grant that the honors and compliments 
paid him were regarded simply as a tribute 
to his native country was emphasized with 
rare modesty and delicacy. In the East 
especially General Grant was made the re- 
cipient of the most marked attention. In 
China the highest authorities of the empire 
showed him every personal and official cour- 



General Grant 121 

tesy, and just as Bismarck and the other 
great European statesmen united in honor- 
ing him, so in India the native princes, in 
China the viceroy, Li Hung Chang, and 
Prince Kung, and in Japan from the Em- 
peror down, all welcomed General Grant as 
the greatest American citizen. Indeed, the 
Chinese and Japanese authorities asked him 
to act as arbitrator in the settlement of 
their disputes. To this day his visit is re- 
ferred to as one of the historical events in 
Japan, and recent travellers are shown tem- 
ples and sacred shrines that were opened to 
General Grant, but, as before, are again 
closed to the rest of the world. The Fourth 
of July was the day on which the Emperor 
received him. 

That his foreign tour is still affectionately 
remembered abroad is shown by the hearty 
welcome given to Colonel Fred. D. Grant in 
Vienna, where his appointment as United 
States Minister by President Harrison was 
received as a special mark of honor. The 
Austrian authorities and the great world of 
Vienna join in doing honor to the son as 
the national representative, just as they did 
to the father in his capacity of private 
citizen. 

General Grant was again received on his 
F ll 



122 Recollections. 

return home by the strongest demonstration 
of popular affection, but his nature remained 
simple and unspoiled as ever, and his one 
constant wish was to be permitted to live a 
quiet, unostentatious life. Most of the won- 
derful and unusual gifts which all the coun- 
tries bestowed on him were sent to me from 
time to time to be cared for, and finally they 
w r ere deposited by him for safe-keeping in 
the National Museum at Washington, where 
they are still an object of interest to thou- 
sands of his countrymen. General Grant's 
journey around the world was not only a 
source of great pleasure to him, but it did a 
real service to his country in making for- 
eigners of all nationalities better acquainted 
with it. 

He was very fortunate in his travelling 
companions, for at one time he was joined 
by his old friend, Mr. Adolph E. Borie, Sec- 
retary of the Navy in his first Cabinet, and 
his nephew, Dr. J. M. Keating, an able young 
physician, of Philadelphia, who printed a 
very graphic account of their visit to India. 
Colonel Fred. D. Grant, too, made one of 
the party in the East, and thus had an oppor- 
tunity to make that preparation which fitted 
him so well for his present office of Minister 
to Austria. Mr. John Eussell Young was 



General Grant 123 

with the general through the whole journey, 
and he was a very welcome addition to the 
party, for as a journalist he had a large 
knowledge of men and things, and the gen- 
eral appreciated his great merit and ability, 
an appreciation shown by his appointment 
as Minister to China, where Mr. Young 
showed that a good newspaper man was 
good for nearly everything, even for difficult 
and delicate diplomatic duties. No man ever 
saw so much, was so honored, feted, and en- 
tertained as General Grant in this journey, 
and none ever came home a more thoroughly 
good citizen, proud of his country and happy 
to be able to live and die under its flag. 

GENERAL GRANT IN PHILADELPHIA. 

General Grant's reception in Philadelphia 
on his return from his tour was thus noticed 
in Harper's Weekly of January 10, 1880 : 

" The departure of General Grant on his 
tour around the world was marked by a 
splendid ovation in Philadelphia. His re- 
turn to that city was the occasion for a re- 
ception which exceeded even that splendid 
celebration in every way, and was a fitting 
close to a round of honors seldom equalled 
in the history of any other hero the world 
has ever known. On both these occasions 



124 Recollections. 

General Grant was the guest of Mr. George 
TV T . Childs, and naturally people are curious 
to know something of the home thus hon- 
ored. It is a stately white marble building 
at the corner of Walnut and Twenty-second 
Streets, built in 1872, and first thrown open 
to the world by a reception given to General 
and Mrs. Grant, where his Cabinet and many 
of the men and women of note in the Quaker 
City were gathered, together with many dis- 
tinguished persons from other places. The 
hospitality thus begun has been continued 
from that time onward, and the house is full 
of the memories of great assemblies that 
have met within its walls. 

" Passing through a vestibule richly orna- 
mented with fine marble, the visitor enters a 
broad hall of highly-polished mahogany and 
satin-wood, the walls enriched with rare Chi- 
nese cloisonne plaques and vases, and finds 
on his right a library, with a wealth of rare 
and curious books and manuscripts that have 
given bibliographers material for many de- 
scriptions. On the walls hang portraits of 
George Peabody, A. J. Drexel, Henry W. 
Longfellow, and the Emperor of Brazil; on 
the book-shelves are choice editions of the 
great authors, many of them enriched with 
autographs and notes, while within its al- 



General Grant 125 

coves are manuscripts of inestimable value. 
The collection of letters by the Presidents 
of the United States is unequalled, while 
among its other treasures are such rarities 
as an original sermon by Cotton Mather, 
complete manuscripts of Sir Walter Scott, 
Dickens, Thackeray, and Hawthorne, Bry- 
ant's First Book of the Iliad, and letters of 
Byron, and Moore, and Gray, and Burns, 
and Pope, and Coleridge, and Schiller, and 
Lamb. On the other side of the hall is a 
large drawing-room, opening into a music- 
room, both decorated with exquisite taste, 
and full of memorials of guests who have 
gathered there in rapid succession. 

" Beyond is the dining-room. On its walls 
there are cabinets filled with rare china, glass, 
and silver-w^are; and a wonderful carving 
from the Black Forest, representing the 
conversion of the Germans, is appropriately 
mated w T ith modern French bronzes of un- 
usual splendor. Around the hospitable table 
have gathered some of the best people who 
have visited Philadelphia. General Grant 
has been a frequent guest, and around him 
have sat the generals who helped him to save 
the Union, — Sherman and Sheridan, Meade 
and Hancock, McDowell and McClellan. 
Brazil was represented there by its Emperor 
11* 



126 Recollections. 

and Empress, whose presence gave the Cen- 
tennial Exhibition at least a continental if 
not a universal character. England has been 
welcomed there in its ambassadors, and 
noblemen whose titles are the least of their 
honors, such as Lord Dufferin, Lord Rose- 
bery, Lord Houghton, the Earl of Caithness, 
and Lord Dunraven; and Dean Stanley, 
Archdeacon Farrar, Matthew Arnold, and 
Charles Kingsley, Froucle and Goldwin 
Smith, Tyndall and Herbert Spencer, Henry 
Irving and Christine Nilsson, John Walter 
and Sir Edward Thornton, have shared and 
appreciated the generous greeting given them 
in this country. Indeed, Lord Houghton in 
his article describing his visit to America, 
and Stanley in his, George Augustus Sala 
in his racy letters to the London Telegraph, 
and Dickens in his letters, and Kingsley in 
his, have made all the world witness of their 
enjoyment of Mr. Childs's hospitality. Our 
own best American men and women have 
been familiar guests around the well-spread 
table, and Longfellow and Holmes, Bancroft, 
Russell Lowell, and Emerson, George Pea- 
body and his successor J. S. Morgan, of 
London; Chauncey M. Depew and George 
B. Roberts, Asa Packer and Austin Corbin ; 
Cornelius Vanderbilt and William Waldorf 



General Grant. 127 

Astor; James G. Blaine, James A. Bayard, 
and Samuel J. Randall; Bishop Simpson, 
Bishop Potter, and Cardinal Gibbons ; Rev. 
Dr. McCosh, of Princeton College, Andrew 
D. White, of Cornell University, and D. C. 
Gilman, of Johns Hopkins University ; Paul 
B. Du Chaillu; J. H. B. Latrobe and Rev- 
erdy Johnson, of Baltimore; Joseph H. 
Choate and J. Pierpont Morgan ; Anthony 
J. Drexel and Francis A. Drexel ; Henry 
Wilson and Hamilton Pish; Professor Jo- 
seph Henry and T. A. Edison, have led. the 
long list of the representatives of American 
genius and distinction that have shared in 
Mr. Childs's inexhaustible hospitality. 

" A broad staircase, with noble marble 
wainscot and ebony rail, leads to the upper 
floors. One room above, the family sitting- 
room, is rich in photographs, signed by the 
originals, representing many of the guests 
who have shared the hearty welcome of the 
house. One of the paintings is by Ernest 
Longfellow, the son of our great poet, and 
an artist who gives promise of making a 
name for himself. In three cabinets there 
is such a collection of rare and beautiful 
carvings in ivory as might well make an 
observer suppose that Mr. Childs had de- 
voted all his time to the study of this curious 



128 Recollections, 

branch of art. Throughout the house there 
is a wealth of clocks, each with its own 
special merit of artistic beauty, historical 
rarity, famous associations, or intrinsic value, 
and at every step there is something note- 
worthy. A working library is comfortably 
housed in a quiet nook on the top floor of 
the house, and there the student might find 
the best books of the l^est writers, and 
material for almost any direction of literary 
investigation. Here, too, there is an organ 
and a musical library of the great masters, 
showing that the heavenly art is diligently 
pursued in its highest form, just as the two 
grand pianos in the alcove opening out of 
and making part of the great drawing-room 
bear evidence to the fact that not all the en- 
grossing cares of the host and hostess, nor 
the manifold charitable claims upon their 
time and purse, deprive them of the solace 
of good music. It was to this house that Gen- 
eral Grant returned to receive the hearty wel- 
come of his Philadelphia friends, who came 
to pay their respects to Mr. Childs's guest in 
quiet, unostentatious, friendly fashion. 

" In this same house General Grant wrote 
his memorable address on the opening of 
the Exposition, and he was the chief at a 
famous gathering, met on Mr. Childs's in- 



General Grant. 129 

vitation, on the evening of the 10th of May, 
1876, to celebrate the opening of the Cen- 
tennial Exhibition. The President of the 
United States and Mrs. Grant, all the mem- 
bers of his Cabinet, the Supreme Court of 
the United States, the leaders of Congress, 
the governors of ten or a dozen States, the 
chiefs of our army and navy, the diplomatic 
representatives of all the foreign countries 
in this country, the Emperor and Empress 
of Brazil, the numerous and distinguished 
foreign Commissioners to the Centennial, 
and as many famous men from all parts of 
this countiy and all its varied interests and 
pursuits, filled the great halls of Mr. Childs's 
house, and lent to the Centennial that social 
side which went so far to make its success, 
and to secure the hearty approval of its thou- 
sands of visitors. On a different occasion 
Mr. Childs brought together all the Centen- 
nial Commissioners, — their name was legion, 
— and their wonderful costumes, striking 
decorations, and delightful incongruitj' of 
tongues made a gathering not easily de- 
scribed or forgotten. Chinamen in heavy 
stuffs, and with the pigtail, the peacock's 
feather, and the mandarin's mysterious but- 
ton; Japanese in uniform that showed the 
baneful effect of civilization in banishing 



130 Recollections. 

their own comfortable and easy costumes; 
Egyptians in court dresses and fez ; Euro- 
peans rich in orders ; and Americans whose 
names were their best passports both at 
home and abroad, crowded the mansion. 

"But there have been gatherings there, 
fit though few, which have had even greater 
interest for the fortunate guest. Sir Edwin 
Arnold, as well as Lord Houghton's anxiety 
to meet Walt Whitman was gratified, and 
the English poet-peer there sat by the side • 
of the American poet whose wood-note wild 
had sounded so attractively in the ear of his 
far-off reader. Dean Stanley held high con- 
verse with the liberal clergymen of all types 
and schools of theology, and shared with 
them in discussing the methods and the hope 
of making the world wiser and better by set- 
ting it the example of a religion broad enough 
to take in all who seek to make life purer 
and nobler. The Marquis de Rochambeau 
was welcomed there as the representative 
of a name dear to every American, for his 
ancestor was the leader of the French allied 
force that helped to make the Revolution and 
to establish the independence of this country, 
Charles Francis Adams and Edmund Quincy, 
both for their own sakes as indefatigable 
workers and as the representatives of the 



General Grant 131 

honored historic names of our own earliest 
days, were received with hearty welcome ; 
and Robert C. Winthrop, with a lineage that 
goes back to the earliest of New England's 
leaders, and Hamilton Fish, with the double 
claim of ancestral merit and of his own 
services to the State, Chief Justice Waite, 
and William M. Evarts, as the leader of the 
American bar, were glad to meet around Mr. 
Chilcls's hospitable table the Philadelphia 
lawyers whose names recall their ancestors, 
— Rawles and Cadwaladers, Ingersolls, Dal- 
las's, Tilghmans, Biddies, and Whartons." 

General Grant was made a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic in my private 
office, in the Ledger Building, on the morn- 
ing of May 16, 1877. On his consenting to 
join General George G. Meade Post, No. 1, 
of Philadelphia, arrangements were made 
for the usual muster in the post-room, but 
in preparing for his proposed tour around 
the world General Grant was delayed in 
reaching the city, and then the engagements 
made for his entertainment, both public and 
private, occupied every moment of his time. 
It became necessary to change the plans, and 
Colonel Beath, then Adjutant-General of the 
Grand Army of the Republic, and Samuel 



132 Recollections. 

Worthington, Adjutant of Post 1, called on 
me to fix the hour that would best suit Gen- 
eral Grant for the Grand Army service. 

Accordingly, at the time fixed, the officers 
and members of Meade Post met in my 
office, and there General Grant assumed the 
obligations of the order, and received the 
badge of membership, which he wore fre- 
quently during his tour abroad, and at home 
on public occasions. 

At noon of the same day a public recep- 
tion was held in Independence Hall, and 
thousands of veterans, with other citizens, 
shook hands with General Grant, bade him 
good-by, and wished him a prosperous voy- 
age. 

Upon his return from this remarkable 
tour, Philadelphia, of course, welcomed him 
with unstinted liberality. 

The evening of December 12, 1879, was 
devoted to the Grand Army of the Republic, 
the Academy of Music being packed with an 
audience of over five thousand enthusiastic 
veterans. Only a few personal friends could 
be admitted on that occasion, Bishop Simp- 
son, A. J. Drexel, George H. Stuart, and 
myself being of the number. 

The escort of General Grant from the 
Continental Hotel to the Academy of Music 



General Grant. 133 

was probably one of the most thrilling and 
touching scenes ever witnessed in Philadel- 
phia. A guard composed of members of 
Post 1 and representatives from all the city 
posts acted as escort, and grouped around 
General Grant's carriage were a large num- 
ber of color-bearers carrying tattered and 
battle-stained flags. Fireworks blazed at 
every point along the route. The streets 
were densely packed with an enthusiastic 
throng, and altogether the scene was one 
never to be forgotten by those who wit- 
nessed it. 

General Hartranft, Commander-in-Chief 
of the Grand Army of the Republic, presided 
at the meeting, and Governor Henry M. 
Hoyt made an eloquent address of welcome. 
General Grant's reply was made in a clear 
and distinct tone, that was plainly heard all 
over the building, and was listened to with 
the closest attention. He said, — 

" It is a matter of very deep regret with 
me that I had not thought of something or 
prepared something to say in response to the 
welcome which I am receiving at your hands 
this evening, but really since my arrival I 
have not had the time, and before that I 
scarcely thought of it. But I can say to you 
all that in the two years and seven months 
12 



134 Recollections. 

since I left this city to make a circuit of the 
globe, I have visited every capital in Europe 
and most of the Eastern nations, but there 
has not been a country which I have visited 
in that circuit where I have not found some 
of our members. In crossing our own land 
from the Pacific to the Atlantic side, there 
is scarcely a new settlement, a cattle-range 
or collection of pioneers, that is not largely 
composed of veterans of the late war. It 
calls to my mind the fact that while wars 
are to be deplored, and unjust wars always 
to be avoided, yet they are not an unmixed 
evil. The boy who is brought up in his 
country home, or his village home, or his 
city home, without any exciting cause, is 
apt to remain there and follow the pursuits 
of his parent, and not develop beyond it, 
and in the majority of cases not come up 
to it ; but being carried away in the great 
struggle, and particularly one where so much 
principle is involved as in our late conflict, 
it brings to his view a wider field than he 
contemplated at his home, and although in 
his field service he longs for the home he 
left behind him, yet when he gets there he 
finds that a disappointment, and has struck 
out for new fields, and has developed the 
vast dominions which are given to us for 



General Grant. 135 

our keeping, — for the thousands of liberty- 
seeking people. The ex-soldier has become 
the pioneer, not only of our land, but has 
extended our commerce and trade, and 
knowledge of us and our institutions, to 
all other lands, and when brighter clays 
dawn upon other nations — particularly those 
nations of the East — America will step in 
for her share of the trade which will be 
opened, and through the exertions of the 
ex-soldiers — the comrades, veterans — and, I 
might say, members of the Grand Army of 
the Republic. 

" Comrades, having been compelled, as 
often as I have been since my arrival in San 
Francisco, to utter a few words not only to 
ex-soldiers, but to all other classes of citizens 
of our great country, and always speaking 
without any preparation, I have necessarily 
been obliged to repeat, possibly in not the 
same words, but the same ideas. But the 
one thing I want to impress on you is that 
we have a country to be proud of, to fight 
for and die for if necessary. While many 
of the countries of Europe give practical 
protection and freedom to the citizen, yet 
there is no European country that compares 
in its resources with our own. There is no 
country where the energetic man can, by his 



136 Recollections. 

own labor, and by his own industry, ingenu- 
ity, and frugality, acquire competency as he 
can in America. 

" A trip abroad, and a study of the insti- 
tutions and difficulties of a poor man making 
his way in the world, is all that is necessary 
to make us better citizens and happier with 
our lot here. 

" Comrades, I thank you for the very cor- 
dial welcome you have given me." 

General Grant retained his membership 
with Post 1 until his death, and when he 
died at Mount McGregor, Post No. 327, of 
Brooklyn, through associations with Colonel 
Fred. D. Grant, tendered their services as a 
guard of honor, and they so acted at the cot- 
tage and during the funeral ceremonies 
with a similar detail from Post 32, of Sara- 
toga. 

The Grand Army of the Eepublic cere- 
monies at the grave at Riverside Park, 
New York City, were exceedingly solemn 
and appropriate, and were conducted by the 
officers and members of Meade Post. 

On the first Memorial Day after the burial 
of General Grant, General John A. Logan, 
who had the distinguished honor of directing 
the observance of May 30, as a memorial 
day for the Union dead, delivered a most 



General Grant 137 

eloquent eulogy over the grave of his dead 
comrade. 

I may say here that the growth of the 
Grand Army has been somewhat phenom- 
enal in view of the time that has elapsed 
since the war. The order was instituted in 
April, 1866, by Dr. D. F. Stephenson, of 
Springfield, Illinois, and for some years had 
a somewhat precarious existence. It did not 
seem to have the confidence of the veterans 
of the country, and after the first start it de- 
clined very rapidly. It reached its lowest 
point in 1876. When General Grant joined 
Post 1 in 1877 it was a very small post, and 
the whole order only numbered twenty-six 
thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine in 
twenty-two departments. Each year there- 
after, however, the advance was marked. 
Over eighty thousand were mustered in a 
single year, and now the membership is over 
four hundred thousand in forty-three depart- 
ments. 

The amount of relief directly disbursed 
by the posts has reached nearly two million 
dollars. 

The following, written at the time of the 
general's death by his devoted and valued 
friend, General E. F. Beale, of Washington, 

12* 



1 38 Recollections. 

is so accurate and just that I am glad to 
quote it here : 

" He was so truthful, so serene, so frank 
and of such simplicity, that it was impossi- 
ble to know and not to love him. I feel that 
the world is better that he has lived. Many 
a one thinking of his patience will suffer 
with more fortitude trials and misfortunes, 
and, knowing how beautiful virtue made his 
life, endeavor to imitate it. History will tell 
how he won great battles, and how the most 
occult problems of state-craft were dealt with 
in his masterly way, but it would be better 
if the world knew more of the sweetness and 
purity of his private life. I had the high 
honor of his friendship, and saw him in his 
familiar hour when the mask which all pub- 
lic men must wear in public was laid aside 
with the reserve which accompanies it. I 
was his companion in his walks and rides, 
and saw and heard him talk in his quiet, 
reposeful manner on all gentle themes. He 
loved to ride through woods and note the 
different trees, and he knew them all, and 
speak of their growth and habits. He loved 
the growing grain and the means and pro- 
cesses of quickening it. He loved horses and 
farm animals, and a quiet, contemplative life 
mixed with the activity of out-door work." 



West Point. 139 

I never heard General Grant say, nor did 
I ever know him to do, a mean thing. His 
entire truthfulness, his perfect honesty, were 
beyond question. I think of him, now that 
he is dead, with ever-increasing admiration ; 
I can recall no instance of vanity, of bom- 
bast, or of self-laudation. He was one of the 
greatest, noblest, and most modest of men, 
— equally great in civil and military life. 



CHAPTER VI. 

WEST POINT. 



Gift of the Portraits of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan 
— Presentation Ceremonies. 

In June, 1887, I was in attendance at 
West Point as President of the Board of 
Visitors. On a certain important occasion 
both Generals Sherman and Sheridan were 
present, and the latter remarked to me that 
he had heard of the portrait of General 
Grant which I had presented to the Military 
Academy, and desired to see it. I told him 
that it was hung in " Mess Hall," the name 
of which building, upon the presentation 



1 40 Recollections. 

of the painting, was changed at ray sugges- 
tion to Grant Hall. So we went down and 
saw the portrait, one nearly of full length. 
Sheridan admired it very much; and I 
turned to him and said, " Now, general, 
if I outlive you I will have your portrait 
painted to hang alongside of Grant's." 

So it came about. The portraits of Sheri- 
dan and Sherman were painted, and along 
with Grant's were placed in Grant Hall, and 
were formally presented to the government 
on October 3, 1889. 

The following is from Harper's Weekly, 
New York, Saturday, October 19, 1889 : 

MR. CHILDS AT WEST POINT. 

" The gift of the portraits of Grant, Sher- 
man, and Sheridan is not the only bene- 
faction of Mr. Childs to the West Point 
Academy, as the following letter shows : 

" ' The visitor to the beautiful cemetery of 
the Military Academy, on the hill-side over- 
looking the Hudson at "West Point, will see 
there, above the graves of officers and cadets, 
a number of monuments, which are all of 
the same original and striking design. The 
massive base of each is of gray unpolished 
granite ; on that rests a block of red granite, 



West Point 141 

polished, and on that a bronze cannon-ball 
of fifteen inches in diameter; on one side of 
that is placed a large bronze shield, at the 
top of which is the insignia of the rank of 
him to whose memory it was erected ; below 
that are the name, dates of birth and of 
death, and an appropriate epitaph. These 
monuments are all the gift of Mr. George 
W. Childs, of Philadelphia, and how they 
came there is told by Colonel Wilson, the 
present Superintendent of the Military Acad- 
emy. 

" < In 1887 Mr. Childs was appointed by 
President Cleveland a member of the Board 
of Visitors to West Point, and during his 
extended visit there, in the discharge of his 
duties as President of the Board, he saw in 
the cemetery of the Academy several graves 
above which no memorials were erected. 
Mr. Childs suggested to General Merritt, 
the then superintendent, who entirely sym- 
pathized with his generous design, that ef- 
forts should be made to ascertain from the 
friends of those whose graves were marked 
by no stone if it was their purpose to erect 
monuments above them, and if not, to ob- 
tain their consent to Mr. Childs doing so. 
The result was that the above-described 
monuments were placed in the cemetery, 



142 Recollections. 

Mr. Childs having had the design of them 
especially made, and paying the entire cost 
of their construction and erection. Mr. 
Childs is the author of many good gifts, 
but we know of no other which so much as 
this denotes the gentle, kindly nature of the 



The following editorial is from the New 
York World, October 5, 1889: 

" Mr. George W. Childs's gift of portraits 
of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan to the 
Military Academy at West Point illustrates 
anew that gentleman's rare gift of doing 
the riorht thins; at the rirfit time, in the 
right way. Not many men have the im- 
pulse to give and to do public-spirited things 
in so large a measure as he, and still rarer 
are those who share his genius for seeing 
what may be best done and how it may be 
most fitly accomplished. Now that he has 
hung upon the walls of the Military Acad- 
emy these portraits of the three great leaders 
of the Union armies from 1861 to 1865, it 
is obvious to every intelligence that this was 
a peculiarly fit and excellent thing to do. 
But nobody else had the gift to recognize 
the need and the generosity to supply it. 
This peculiar grace and quickness of per- 



West Point. 143 

ception have distinguished all of the liberal 
Philadelphian's benefactions and greatly en- 
hanced their value and their influence. He 
is a consummate artist in well doing, and 
the accomplishment is an exceedingly rare 
one." 

The Secretary of War, in his anniial report 
for the year 1889, says, — 

" Through the patriotic generosity of 
Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, the 
Academy was enriched, through interesting 
ceremonies on the 3d of October last, by 
the presentation of fine oil-paintings of the 
three generals of the army whose names 
will remain indissolubly connected with the 
war for the preservation of the Union, — 
Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan." 

LETTER FEOM PRESIDENT HARRISON. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, 
September 30, 1889. 

George W. Childs, Esq., Philadelphia. 

My dear Sir, — I am just in receipt of 
your kind invitation to attend the exercises 
at West Point on the 3d proximo in con- 
nection with the presentation by you to the 
Academy of the portraits of Generals Grant, 
Sherman, and Sheridan. 



144 Recollections. 

Let me assure you that I decline the in- 
vitation with regret. But my engagements 
here are such as to make an acceptance 
impossible. The observation by the cadets 
of the portraits of these great captains and 
patriots cannot fail to be a source of in- 
spiration and encouragement. 

Yery sincerely yours, 
Benj. Harrison. 

LETTER FROM GENERAL HOWARD. 

Headquarters Division of the Atlantic, 
Governor's Island, N. Y., 

October 1, 1889. 

George W. Childs, Esq., Ledger Building, 
Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 
My dear Sir, — Nothing but a positive 
engagement of long standing and one of 
great importance could have kept me from 
being with you at the presentation on the 
3d inst. Allow me to thank you for these 
ever-increasing evidences of your large- 
heartedness and patriotic devotion. 
Sincerely your friend, 

0. 0. Howard, 
Ma} .-Gen. U. S. Army. 

The New York Tribune gave the follow- 
ing account of the formal presentation of 
the portraits : 



West Point 145 

" West Point, K Y., October 3, 1889.— 
Many interests were happily woven into 
one to give distinction to a memorable day 
at this place. Memorable indeed it must in 
any case have been. So much the occasion 
assured. But it was a happy circumstance, 
and added greatly to heighten the interest 
and impressiveness of the ceremonies, that 
the presentation to the corps of cadets by a 
liberal citizen of the portraits of our three 
great patriotic commanders should not only 
have drawn together so distinguished a com- 
pany of our own people, but should also 
have been witnessed and honored by the 
presence of the International American Con- 
gress, the official representatives of nearly 
all the republics of the three Americas. 
And in all this remarkable audience none 
looked on and listened with greater interest 
and attention than the dignified men w T hose 
whole demeanor to-day showed that they 
have come here not as foreigners, but as 
friends. They seemed to feel that the name 
of America might be broad enough to 
embrace and unite a hemisphere. . . . 

" After a national salute from the field 
battery on the plain, in honor of the Con- 
gress of the Americas, the battalion of cadets 
formed in line, under the orders of the com- 
q k 13 



1 46 Recollections. 

mandant, Lieutenant-Colonel J. P. Hawkins, 
and, after passing in review in common and 
double time before the superintendent, Col- 
onel John M. "Wilson, and the Secretary of 
War, marched in a body to Grant Hall, and 
stood at parade rest at the south end while 
the company seated itself in the body of the 
hall and on the platform at the north end. 
Here, on the walls, concealed by handsome 
silk flags, hung the three large paintings 
of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, which 
George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, was 
about to present to the Academy. Beneath 
them, besides the members of the Congress, 
sat General Sherman himself, with Mr. 
Childs on his right; Colonel Wilson, with 
Secretary Proctor on his left, and Chaplain 
Postlethwaite on his right; Generals Van 
Vliet, Fitz-John Porter, Horace Porter, 
Michael V. Sheridan, Adjutant-General Kel- 
ton, Hon. John Bigelow, Hon. Hamilton 
Fish, Jr., Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, Alex- 
ander Hamilton, Senor Romero, Mexican 
Minister (a devoted friend of General Grant), 
J. G. do Amaral Valente, Brazilian Minis- 
ter, and many noted soldiers and citizens, 
together with the officers of the academic 
staff and the ladies of their families. 

" After a short and earnest prayer by the 



West Point. 147 

Rev. W. M. Postlethwaite, the chaplain of 
the Academy, the three flags fell simultane- 
ously at a signal from Colonel Wilson, and 
the portraits stood revealed. They are all 
the work of Mrs. Darragh, of Philadelphia. 
Grant, which naturally hangs in the middle, 
was painted from Gutekunst's photograph 
of 1865, and represents Mm in an easy atti- 
tude in full general's uniform, without sword 
or epaulets, the frock-coat unbuttoned, the 
right hand thrust in the trousers-pocket, and 
the left resting in the folds of the breast. 
Sherman, on Grant's left, is from Hunting- 
ton's portrait of 1874; while Sheridan, on 
the opposite side, was taken from life, shortly 
before his death. They are all extremely 
lifelike, as the men looked at the time. Gen- 
eral Sherman naturally looked older than 
his counterfeit, but a startling resemblance 
to Sheridan was seen and remarked in the 
person of his brother, who survives him, and 
who sat there as if to invite the verification. 
The audience stood while the band played 
6 Hail, Columbia.' Then General Horace 
Porter made an eloquent, scholarly, and 
even masterly, presentation speech in behalf 
of Mr. Childs. He was well received and 
heartily applauded throughout, as well as at 
the close." 



148 Recollections. 

The New York World, of October 4, re- 
cords the presentation as follows : 

" The ceremonies of the unveiling of the 
portraits quickly followed the review in 
Grant Hall, and as the assemblage took their 
seats the appearance of General Sherman 
and Mr. Childs on the platform brought 
about a storm of applause. The old hero 
bowed and smiled good-naturedly, and Mr. 
Childs modestly, seated beside Colonel Wil- 
son, who presided as the chairman of the 
meeting, blushed as though some one had 
asked him to take command of the army. 
It was military throughout, the way the 
ceremonies began. The Post-chaplain said 
a short prayer. At its close Colonel Wilson 
raised his hand, and silence prevailed. Be- 
hind the platform there were three American 
flags hanging against the wall, and all eyes 
were fixed upon them. The colonel's hand 
came down on the table in front of him, 
there was one beat of the drum, and the 
three flags disappeared as if wiped out by 
electricity, and the three portraits of the 
great generals were revealed. Round upon 
round of applause followed, the cadets 
marched in the hall behind the audience, 
presented arms, and the band struck up 
' Hail, Columbia. 5 As Mr. Childs stood up 



West Point. 149 

like the others on the platform to gaze upon 
the portraits, he was applauded to the echo, 
the ladies waving their handkerchiefs, and 
the cadets beating the floor with the but- 
ends of their muskets. What Mr. Childs 
had promised General Sheridan in 1887, 
when he said, ' General, if I outlive you I 
will have your portrait painted and hung 
there beside that of Grant ; I think it would 
be a good idea to paint Sherman also, and 
to hang him on the one side of Grant and 
you on the other, 5 was an accomplished fact. 
Mr. Childs looked towards General Sherman 
as he took his seat, and the old hero clasped 
him warmly by the hand. 

" General Horace Porter's address was 
listened to with great attention and loudly 
applauded. When Mr. Childs's name was 
mentioned as well as General Sherman's, the 
applause was loud and long-continued. 

COLONEL WILSON'S REMARKS. 

" Colonel Wilson's reply to General Por- 
ter, accepting the portraits for the Academy, 
was a ringing one and astonished his fellow- 
soldiers by its oratorical delivery. Even 
Secretary of War Proctor remarked, in the 
few words he said to the audience on be- 
ing called for, that ' West Point evidently 

13* 



1 50 Recollections. 

brought out not only good soldiers but 
splendid orators/ 

"' Mr. Chilcls,' said Colonel "Wilson, 4 in 
the name of the United States Military 
Academy I accept these splendid portraits 
of the trio of heroes to whom our country 
is so much indebted for its grandeur and its 
unity. It is particularly appropriate that 
you, one of the ablest leaders in that profes- 
sion which is surely kindred to that of arms, 
the press of the nation, should present to 
this, their Alma Mater, the portraits of these 
eminent men. The power of the press is 
to-day felt throughout the civilized world. 
It is the press that urges us to " do noble 
deeds, not dream them all clay long." It is 
men like you who are leading these magnifi- 
cent armies of the press in peace, that are 
reducing the Malakoffs of vice and Redans 
of evil. In the name of the Military Acad- 
emy I thank you for this generous and noble 
gift, and may I not express the hope that, 
to prove to those who come after us " that 
peace hath its victories as well as war," we 
ere long may see upon these walls, among 
the portraits of these eminent soldiers, that 
of the able, upright, philanthropic, con- 
scientious Christian citizen, that generous, 
true-hearted man, Mr. George W. Childs?' 



West Point 151 

" The Secretary of War then made a few 
remarks, which were well received. 

" General Sherman, who, during all these 
ceremonies, had sat on the platform with 
folded hands and tear-dimmed and down- 
cast eyes, in response to many calls, was 
next introduced. As ths general arose the 
assemblage broke forth into wild cheering. 

" The applause was persistent as General 
Sherman stood upon his feet, after repeated 
calls. He spoke with feeling, and his deeply- 
lined face, closely watched by those who 
never before had seen him, was moved by 
intense earnestness. The light of clustered 
lamps fell upon his silvered head as he spoke, 
and his strong face was tremulous with emo- 
tion as he referred to the fact that by a 
strange accident of nature he was the only 
one living now of the three whose portraits 
were before his hearers, and there was a sad 
quality in his voice when he said, ' I was 
older than either Grant or Sheridan.' 

GENERAL SHERMAN'S REMARKS. 

" ' Ladies and Gentlemen and those 
Cadets behind : I fear that "West Point is 
losing that good old reputation for doing 
and not speaking. I have done more talk- 
ing than I should have done, and I believe 



152 Recollections. 

I have done some good, though not such 
as I thought of doing. It is one of those 
strange incidents of my life that I am per- 
mitted to stand before you to-night the sole 
survivor of the trio, or trinity, of the gen- 
erals of the army of the United States. I 
was older than Grant or Sheridan. No three 
men ever lived on the earth's surface so 
diverse in mental and physical attributes as 
the three men whose portraits you now look 
upon. Different in every respect except one, 
— we had a guiding star ; we had an emblem 
of nationality in our minds implanted at 
West Point, which made us come together 
for the common purpose like the rays of the 
sun coming together make them burn. This, 
my young friends in gray, I want you to re- 
member, that men may differ much, but that 
by coming together in harmony and friend- 
ship and love they may move mountains. 

" ' I knew these men from the soles of 
their feet to the tops of their heads. They 
breathed the same feelings with me. We 
were soldiers to obey the orders of our coun- 
try's government and carry them out what- 
ever the peril that threatened us. Having 
done so, we laid down our arms, like good 
citizens that we hope to have been, giving the 
example to all of the world that war is for 



West Point. 153 

one purpose, — to produce peace. A just war 
will produce peace; au unjust war has am- 
bition or some other bad motive. Our war 
was purely patriotic, to help the government 
in its peril. We were taught to idolize that 
flas; on the flaer-staff, obeying the common 
law, and working to a common purpose. 
No jealousies, nothing of the kind; work- 
ing together like soldiers, the lieutenant 
obeying the captain, the captain his colonel, 
the brigadier the general, and all subordinate 
to the President of the United States, — the 
commander-in-chief. There is no need to 
prophesy ; it is as plain as mathematics. 
You can look in the heavens and read it. 
It is the lesson of life. When war comes 
you can have but one purpose — your country, 
— and by your country I mean the whole 
country, not part of it.' " 

At the close of the remarks of General 
Sherman immense cheers rang through the 
hall.* 

* In a letter to me, dated New York, November 3, 
1889, General Sherman, speaking of my " Kecollections 
of General Grant," which had been sent to him in con- 
venient pamphlet form, says, " The substance of the 
contents of this pamphlet I had read before, but it is 
mere valuable in being thus arranged for safe-keeping, 
though I would prefer it in octavo instead of duodecimo, 
because my habit is to collect such pamphlets and once 



1 54 Recollections. 

GENERAL HORACE PORTER'S ADDRESS. 

General Horace Porter was General Grant's 
trusted and tried friend for the last twenty- 
five years of his life. He was one of his staff 
officers throughout the war, and his military 
secretary while he was President of the 
United States. The following is the touch- 
ing and elegant address which he delivered 
on this occasion : 

" The only representatives of royalty recog- 
nized in this land are our merchant princes. 
We are indebted for the occasion which 
brings us together to-day to the princely act 
of a public-spirited and patriotic citizen who 
has conferred upon the Military Academy 
souvenirs of her three most distinguished 
graduates whose historic features have been 
transferred to canvas by the limner's art. 
One dwelling in our midst, two dwelling in 
our memories. One bearing the laurel upon 
a living brow, two wearing the laurel inter- 
twined with the cypress. The history of 

a year to overhaul them, select enough each year to 
make a book of about five hundred pages, and have 
them indexed and bound for future reference. In this 
way I collect much valuable matter. I am sure this 
little 'primer' of yours will have fifty times its value 
fifty years hence." 



West Point. 155 

their lives is the most brilliant chapter in 
the history of their country. It savors more 
of romance than reality; it is more like a 
fabled tale of ancient days than the story of 
American soldiers of the nineteenth century. 
" Most of the conspicuous characters in 
history have risen to prominence by gradual 
steps, but the senior of the triumvirate, 
whose features are recalled to us to-day, 
came before the people with a sudden bound. 
Almost the first sight caught of him was in 
the blaze of his camp-fires and the flashes 
of his guns those wintry days and nights in 
front of Donelson. From that time until 
the closing triumph at Appomattox the 
great central figure of the war was Ulysses 
S. Grant. As light and shade produce the 
most attractive effects in a picture, so the 
singular contrasts, the strange vicissitudes 
of his eventful life surround him with an 
interest which attaches to few characters in 
history. His rise from an obscure lieu- 
tenant to the command of the veteran ar- 
mies of the great republic ; his transition 
from a frontier post of the untrodden West 
to the Executive Mansion of the nation ; 
his sitting at one time in a little store in 
Galena, not even known to the Congress- 
man from his district; at another time strid- 



156 Recollections. 

ing through the palaces of the Old World, 
with the descendants of a line of kings 
rising and standing uncovered in his pres- 
ence, — these are some of the features of his 
marvellous career which appeal to the imag- 
ination, excite men's wonder, and fascinate 
all who make a study of his life. 

" He was created for great emergencies. 
It was the very magnitude of the task which 
called forth the powers that mastered it. 
In ordinary matters he was an ordinary 
man ; in momentous affairs he towered as a 
giant. When performing the routine duties 
of a company post, there was no act to 
make him conspicuous above his fellow- 
officers, but when he wielded corps and 
armies the great qualities of the commander 
flashed forth, and his master-strokes of 
genius stamped him as the foremost soldier 
of his age. When he hauled wood from 
his little farm and sold it in St. Louis his 
financiering was hardly equal to that of the 
small farmers about him, but when a mes- 
sage was to be sent by a President to Con- 
gress that would puncture the fallacies of 
the inflationists and throttle by a veto the 
attempt of unwise legislators to cripple the 
finances of the nation, a state paper was 
produced which has ever since commanded 



West Point 157 

the wonder and admiration of every believer 
in a sound currency. He was made for 
great things, not for little. He could collect 
fifteen millions from Great Britain in settle- 
ment of the Alabama claims ; he could not 
protect his own personal savings from the 
miscreants who robbed him in Wall Street. 

" If there is one word which describes 
better than any other the predominating 
characteristic of his nature, that word is 
loyalty. He was loyal to his friends, loyal 
to his family, loyal to his country, and loyal 
to his God. This trait naturally produced 
a reciprocal effect upon those who were 
brought into relations with him, and was 
one of the chief reasons why men became 
so loyally attached to him. Many a public 
man has had troops of adherents who clung 
to him only for the patronage dispensed at 
his hands, or being dazzled by his power 
became blind partisans in a cause he repre- 
sented; but perhaps no other man than 
General Grant ever had so many personal 
friends who loved him for his own sake, 
whose affection only strengthened with time, 
whose attachment never varied in its devo- 
tion, whether he was general or President, 
or simply private citizen. 

" He was generous alike to friends and 

14 



158 Recollections. 

foes. So magnanimous was he to his enemy 
that we find him after the close of the war 
risking his commission in saving from pros- 
ecution in the civil courts his great military 
antagonist upon the battle-fields of Virginia. 

" Even the valor of his martial deeds was 
surpassed by the superb heroism he dis- 
played when fell disease attacked him, when 
the hand which had seized the surrendered 
swords of countless thousands was no longer 
able to return the pressure of a comrade's 
grasp, when he met in death the first enemy 
to whom he ever surrendered. But with 
him death brought eternal rest, and he was 
permitted to enjoy what he had pleaded for 
in behalf of others, for the Lord had let him 
have peace. 

" Turn we now to Grant's immediate suc- 
cessor in the office of general-in-chief, his 
illustrious lieutenant with whom he divided 
a field of military operations which covered 
half a continent, the skilful strategist, the 
brilliant writer, the commander whose or- 
ders spoke with the true bluntness of the 
soldier, who fought from valley's depth to 
mountain height, who marched from inland 
rivers to the sea, — William T. Sherman. 

" He has shown himself possessed of the 
highest characteristics of the soldier. Bold 



West Point 159 

in conception, self-reliant, demonstrating by 
his acts that ' much danger makes great 
hearts most resolute,' prompt in decision, 
unshrinking under grave responsibilities, 
fertile in resources, quick to adapt the 
means at hand to the accomplishment of 
an end, possessing an intuitive knowledge 
of topography, combining the restlessness 
of a Hotspur with the patience of a Fabius, 
unswerving in patriotism, of unimpeachable 
personal character, with a physical constitu- 
tion which enabled him to undergo every 
hardship incident to an active campaign, it 
is no wonder that he has filled so large a 
measure of military greatness, that he stands 
in the front rank of the world's great cap- 
tains. 

" No name connected with American war- 
fare inspires more genuine enthusiasm, ap- 
peals more to our sentiments, or more ex- 
cites our fancy than that of the wizard of 
the battle-field, Philip H. Sheridan. The 
personification of chivalry, the incarnation 
of battle; cheering, threatening, inciting, 
beseeching, inspiring all men by his acts, 
he roused his troops to deeds of individual 
heroism unparalleled in the history of mod- 
ern warfare, and his unconquerable columns 
rushed to victory with all the confidence of 



1 60 Recollections. 

Csesar's Tenth Legion. Generous of his 
life, gifted with the ingenuity of a Hanni- 
bal, the dash of a Murat, the courage of a 
Ney, the magnetism of his presence trans- 
formed routed squadrons into charging col- 
umns, and snatched victory from defeat. 
He preferred shot and shell to flags of truce ; 
he would rather lead forlorn hopes than 
follow in the wake of charges. 

" His standard rose above all others on 
the field; wherever blows fell thickest his 
crest was in their midst ; despite the daring 
valor of the defence, opposing ranks went 
down before the fierceness of his onsets 
never to rise again ; he paused not till the 
folds of his banners waved over the strong- 
holds he had wrested from the foe. While 
his achievements in actual battle eclipse, 
by their brilliancy, the strategy and grand 
tactics employed in his campaigns, yet the 
skill and boldness exhibited in moving large 
bodies of men into position entitle him, per- 
haps, to as much credit as the marvellous 
qualities he displayed in the face of the 
enemy. 

" Brave Sheridan ! Methinks I see your 
silent clay again quickened into life, once 
more riding Rienzi through a fire of hell, 
leaping opposing earthworks at a single 



West Point. 161 

bound, and leaving nothing of those who 
barred your way except the fragments scat- 
tered in your path. 

" Matchless leader ! Harbinger of vic- 
tory, we salute you ! 

" As long as manly courage is talked of or 
heroic deeds are honored, there w T ill remain 
green in the hearts of men the talismanic 
name of Sheridan. 

" Nearly every great war has given birth 
to one great general; no other war than our 
own has produced three such eminent com- 
manders. In their portraits future graduates 
w 7 ill gaze upon the features of three soldiers 
who were heroes, comrades, friends. As 
iron is w r elded in the heat of the forge, so 
was their friendship welded in the heat of 
battles. With hearts untouched by jealousy, 
w 7 ith souls too great for rivalry, they saved 
us from the spectacle presented by a Marius 
and a Sulla, a Csesar and a Pompey, a Charles 
the First and a Cromw T ell. They placed 
above all personal ends the safety of the 
state, and, like the men in the Roman pha- 
lanx of old, stood shoulder to shoulder 
and linked their shields against a common 
foe. 

" In this life little is learned from precept, 
something from experience, much from ex- 
l 14* 



162 Recollections. 

ample. It is said that for three hundred 
years after Thermopylae every school child 
in Greece was required each day to repeat 
from memory the names of the three hun- 
dred immortal heroes who fell in the defence 
of that pass. It would be in itself a liberal 
education to the future defenders of the 
republic who bear diplomas from this his- 
toric spot, where patriotism early found a 
stronghold and treason's plots were baffled, 
if they could daily utter the names and con- 
template the exalted characters of the trio 
whose faces will henceforth look down upon 
them from the artist's canvas. As we gaze 
upon the features of each one of them we 
may fittingly apply the words of Milton, — 

" ' Thither shall all the valiant youth resort, 
And from his memory inflame their breasts 
To matchless valor.' 

" The imperishable scroll on which the 
record of their deeds is written has been se- 
curely lodged in the highest niche of Fame's 
temple. ISTo one can pluck a single laurel 
from their brow; no man can lessen the 
measure of their renown. 

" It is an auspicious circumstance which 
permits these ceremonies to take place be- 
fore so distinguished and influential a body 



West Point. 163 

as that of the International American Con- 
gress. The presence of its delegates upon 
this Post dedicated to war is an augury that 
states may be saved without the sword ; 
that henceforth our differences in the New 
World may be settled without resorting to 
the ; last argument of kings/ and that con- 
gresses, bearing in their hands the olive- 
branch, will labor to avoid war, which 
wastes a nation's substance, to foster com- 
merce, which is a nation's life, and to pre- 
serve that peace and good-will which should 
everywhere prevail among men. 

" Three years ago there was selected as 
President of your Board of Visitors a citi- 
zen of Philadelphia, whose heart is as large 
as his purse, and whose generosity dwells 
in a land which knows no frontiers, — Mr. 
George W. Chilcls. His thoughtfulness 
prompted his liberality to procure for the 
Academy these gifts which are to grace its 
walls. 

" The likeness of General Grant was exe- 
cuted by Mrs. Darragh, of Philadelphia. 
It was made from a photograph taken by 
Gutekunst, of that city, in 1865, which Mrs. 
Grant and a number of the general's friends 
considered the best of the many pictures 
taken of him just after the war. Repre- 



164 Recollections. 

senting him as he appeared nearly thirty 
years ago, his features do not seem so famil- 
iar to those who saw him only in later years. 
Mrs. Darragh was also commissioned to exe- 
cute the portraits of Sheridan and Sherman. 
In the preparation of General Sherman's 
picture her chief guide was the famous por- 
trait of him painted by Huntington, fifteen 
years ago, and her aim was to represent the 
general as of that period. General Sheri- 
dan sat for his portrait, and she painted it 
from life, representing the general as he ap- 
peared but a short time before his lamented 
death. 

" It now becomes my agreeable duty, in 
the name of JVL\ Childs, to present to you, 
Colonel Wilson, as Superintendent of the 
Military Academy, the portraits of three of 
her sons who have borne the highest mili- 
tary titles, as an offering from an untitled 
citizen, who, in his living, has verified the 
adage that the post of honor is the private 
station. 

" His good works have made him honored 
in other lands as well as this, where his 
name is held in grateful recollection by the 
many who have been the recipients of his 
practical philanthropy; and not only the 
graduates of West Point, but the people at 



West Point. 165 

large, will, I am sure, make grateful ac- 
knowledgment of the means he has taken, 
in those testimonials, to manifest his appre- 
ciation of the Military Academy and the 
three distinguished sons she trained to battle 
for the integrity of our common country." 

There were loud cheers as the general 
sat down, and then the band struck up 
"Yankee Doodle," the ladies and guests gen- 
erally rushed from their seats, and as they 
filed out into the dark after the cadet corps 
Mr. Childs was surrounded by the officers 
and the American delegates, who shook him 
by the hand heartily and congratulated him 
upon the grand success of his patriotic plan 
of 1887. ' 

HISTORY OF THE PORTRAITS. 

Major John M. Carson, chief of the Phila- 
delphia Ledger Bureau at Washington, has 
furnished the following account of the paint- 
ing of the portraits of Generals Grant, 
Sherman, and Sheridan for the Military 
Academy : 

" The creation of portraits of Generals 
Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, now hung 
in the Cadet Mess Hall — to be hereafter 
known as Grant Hall — at the United States 



166 Recollections. 

Military Academy, West Point, was begun 
about three years ago. The original pur- 
pose was confined to a portrait of Grant. 
The portraits of Sherman and Sheridan 
sprang from this purpose, and, considering 
the relations of Mr. George W. Childs, to 
whose patriotism and liberality the Military 
Academy is indebted for the portraits, with 
those three military chieftains, the Sherman 
and Sheridan paintings were an easy and 
logical outgrowth. The scheme from which 
these three large valuable paintings ema- 
nated w r as evolved from a comparatively 
unimportant incident. About four years 
ago, with that skill and ingenuity which 
have made him famous in the management 
of the Cadet Mess, Captain William F. 
Spurgin, treasurer, quartermaster, and com- 
missary of cadets, succeeded in giving the 
Mess Hall a new floor and having its walls 
brightened. 

" Captain Spurgin next conceived the 
idea of making the Hall still more attrac- 
tive by hanging pictures and portraits upon 
the walls. This was approved by General 
Wesley Merritt, then superintendent of the 
Academy, who authorized the transfer from 
the library of several portraits for this pur- 
pose. When these were hung in the Mess 



West Point. 167 

Hall a new idea was suggested to Captain 
Spurgin, and he concluded that it would be 
most appropriate to collect for the Hall por- 
traits and photographs of the distinguished 
graduates of the Academy. It was naturally 
thought that the daily presence with the 
cadets of these exemplars of the Academy 
could not fail to exercise a wholesome influ- 
ence upon the corps. They would furnish 
cadets when at meals suggestions for thought 
and conversation, and those who occupied 
seats at tables once occupied by Grant, Sher- 
man, Sheridan, Meade, Thomas, Hancock, 
and other eminent graduates, as they looked 
upon the portraits, would be encouraged to 
emulate the lives of those great chieftains. 
In addition to this, it was thought that such 
a gallery might be collected through relatives 
and friends, without expense to the govern- 
ment or the Academy. 

"During one of my periodical visits to 
the Academy Captain Spurgin outlined his 
scheme, and said he would like to obtain a 
good picture of General Grant. It was sug- 
gested that Mr. George W. Childs had sev- 
eral good large-size photographs of Grant, 
and would doubtless be glad to contribute 
one of them for this use. Captain Spurgin 
wrote to Mr. Childs, who agreed to comply 



168 Recollections. 

with the request made. Shortly thereafter 
Mr. Childs mentioned this matter to Mrs. 
U. S. Grant, who said that she would like, 
above all things, to have a good likeness of 
her husband at the Military Academy, for 
which he always entertained a feeling of 
admiration and love. Some years prior to 
this Mr. Childs had Leutze, who painted 
4 Westward the Course of Empire' upon the 
wall of the west stairway to the gallery of 
the House of Representatives at Washington, 
paint a portrait of General Grant, and sug- 
gested that the Leutze painting be trans- 
ferred from the library to the Cadet Mess 
Hall. The Leutze portrait was not liked 
by Mrs. Grant, and she did not, therefore, 
care to have it used for this purpose. Mr. 
Childs then said he would have a portrait 
of the general made for West Point from 
any picture Mrs. Grant might select. The 
photograph made by Gutekunst, of Phil- 
adelphia, in 1865, was selected by Mrs. 
Grant, and Mrs. Darragh, of Philadelphia, 
was commissioned to paint a portrait from 
it. The general stood for this photograph. 
It is regarded by his family, and those who 
were his associates, as a correct likeness of 
the general as he appeared at the close of 
the war. When the photograph was taken 



West Point 169 

General Grant wore upon his left arm a 
badge of mourning for President Lincoln. 
This emblem of mourning does not appear 
in the painting. To many of those who 
knew General Grant after he became Presi- 
dent, the Darragh portrait is not considered 
good, but by the family of the general, and 
by those who were intimate with him during 
and immediately after the war, it is regarded 
as a faithful likeness and an excellent por- 
trait. It was sent to the Academy in May, 
1887, and hung on the north wall of the 
Cadet Mess Hall. General Merritt, ' in 
honor of the great graduate of the Academy, 
whose portrait, a present to the Academy 
from Mr. George W. Childs, sanctifies the 
hall as a gallery for the portraits of gradu- 
ates/ issued an order directing that there- 
after the cadet dining-hall should be known 
officially as Grant Hall. 

" In June, 1887, a few days after the 
Grant portrait had been hung, Mr. Childs 
visited the Military Academy as a member 
of the Board of Visitors, upon which occa- 
sion I accompanied him. General Sheridan 
also visited the Academy at that time in his 
official capacity as lieutenant-general com- 
manding the army, and it proved to be his 
last visit to the institution. In company 
h 15 



170 Recollections. 

with Mr. Childs General Sheridan visited 
the dining-hall to inspect the Grant portrait, 
and during this inspection Mr. Childs said 
to the general, in his quick but cheerful 
manner in conversation, — 

"' General, if I outlive you I will have 
your portrait painted and hung there beside 
that of Grant.' 

" Sheridan responded, 'Mr. Childs, if you 
intend to have painted a portrait of me I 
would like to see it before it is hung in this 
hall.' 

" ' All right/ said Mr. Childs ; ' you shall 
see it. I would prefer to have you painted 
while living.' 

" After further conversation about the 
Grant portrait, the two gentlemen left the 
hall and walked to the house of the superin- 
tendent, General Merritt, at which General 
Sheridan was a guest. Mr. Childs proceeded 
to the West Point Hotel. Sheridan arrived 
at the Point that morning, and was to review 
the corps of cadets in the afternoon, and, as 
it was near the hour fixed for the parade 
when General. Merritt's house was reached, 
he went directly to his room to don his 
uniform. "While thus engaged he sent a 
messenger to Mr. Childs, asking that gentle- 
man to join him before ' parade/ and, at the 



West Point, 17 1 

same time, invited the Board of Visitors, 
through Mr. Childs, who was President of 
the Board, to attend him during the cere- 
monies of parade and review. 

" When Mr. Childs joined the general on 
the porch of the superintendent's house, the 
latter said, — 

" ' Mr. Childs, while putting on my uni- 
form, I could not help musing about our 
conversation in the Mess Hall. If you are 
in earnest about painting my portrait for the 
Academy, I want to be painted from life.' 

" ' I am in earnest,' replied Mr. Childs. 
' The portrait shall be painted, upon one 
condition, — it must please Mrs. Sheridan. 
I think it would be a good idea to paint 
Sherman also, and to hang him on the one 
side of Grant and you on the other.' 

" ' That certainly would be a generous 
act upon your part,' said Sheridan, ' and one 
which would be appreciated by Sherman 
and myself. I would rather have you do 
this service than any other man, because no 
one could do it with so much propriety. 
The relations between Grant and you. were 
bound by strong ties of mutual affection. 
Those between you, Sherman, and myself 
have been most intimate. We have all 
been guests at the same time, and many 



172 Recollections. 

times, at your house. You have come to 
know us better than other men know us. 
Grant, Sherman, and myself were closely 
connected with the suppression of the re- 
bellion. United thus in our lives, we should 
be placed together here, returned as it were 
to the Academy from which we started out 
in the morning of life as second lieutenants. 
Associated as you have been with us, you are 
the very man to keep us united after death.' 

"'All right, general/ said Mr. Childs. 
' The portraits shall be painted and hung in 
the Mess Hall. Now select your artist/ 

" When Mr. Childs spoke to General 
Sheridan in the Mess Hall about painting 
his portrait, the latter did not think that 
Mr. Childs was serious. I happen to know 
that Mr. Childs formed the determination 
to add the portraits of Sherman and Sheri- 
dan to his contribution prior to his visit to 
the Academy, and informed General Sheri- 
dan of this fact upon his return to Wash- 
ington from West Point during a conversa- 
tion in which he related to me what I have 
stated touching the conversation with Mr. 
Childs at West Point, and also the conver- 
sation between Childs, Sheridan, and Sher- 
man in relation to painting a portrait of the 
general last named. 



West Point. 173 

" Shortly after the conversation between 
Childs and Sheridan on the porch of the 
superintendent's house, the battalion was 
formed on the parade-ground. General 
Sheridan, accompanied by the superinten- 
dent and staff and the Board of Visitors, 
had passed down the front and up the rear 
of the battalion, with its well-aligned and 
rigid ranks, in which he had once stood as 
a cadet, and had taken his place at the 
point designated for the reviewing officer, 
when General Sherman rode up from Crans- 
ton's Hotel, located about a mile south of 
the reservation. Sherman remained in his 
carriage, which w 7 as drawn up in front of 
the parade-ground and directly in rear of 
the reviewing officer. As the corps passed 
in common, and subsequently in double 
time, Sherman stood up and watched, with 
old-time eagerness and pride, the columns 
of gray and white until they wheeled into 
a faultless line, tendered the final salute 
to the reviewing officer, heard the cadet 
adjutant announce ' Parade is dismissed,' 
and saw the companies move, to lively mu- 
sic, from the parade-ground to the cadet bar- 
racks. Then he alighted from the carriage, 
pushed through the crowd that always 
fringes the parade-ground upon occasions 

15* 



1 74 Recollections. 

of parade and review, and joined Sheridan 
and the other officials who still lingered on 
the ground. When the usual salutations 
and introductions had been concluded, 
Sheridan drew Sherman and Childs apart 
from the crowd and said, — 

" ' Sherman, Mr. Childs informs me that 
he intends to have portraits of you and me 
painted, to hang beside that of General 
Grant in the Mess Hall. He proposes to 
wait until we die, but I insisted that the 
paintings be made before we die, so we may 
see how the artist executes us. He has 
agreed to do this, and I told him he is the 
one man who can and should do it.' 

" General Sherman expressed great grati- 
fication at this. ' Childs/ said he, ' that is 
a good idea. I think it will be admitted, 
and I can say it without suspicion of ego- 
tism, that Grant, Sheridan, and myself were 
the three central military figures of the war, 
and I would like that we should go down 
to posterity together. I like the idea of 
hanging our portraits in the Mess Hall here, 
and I agree with Sheridan that the scheme 
can be better, and with greater propriety, 
carried out by you than by any other man. 5 

" 'Well, it is all understood and settled/ 
said Mr. Childs. 'I have told Sheridan to 



West Point. 175 

select his artist, and I now repeat that order 
to you.' 

" When it was publicly announced that 
Mr. Childs was to have the portraits painted, 
the two generals were overrun with letters 
from artists soliciting the work. In Sheri- 
dan's case the applications were so numer- 
ous as to become annoying, and upon his 
request a paragraph was published in the 
newspapers announcing that he had selected 
an artist. It was Mr. Childs's desire to 
have the two portraits finished in time for 
the annual commencement in June, 1888, 
and by his direction I several times urged 
Sheridan to select an artist and have the 
work begun. This was not an easy matter 
for him to do, but he finally succeeded in 
finding an artist in New York with whom 
he partially arranged to paint his portrait. 
In the mean time he sent to Mr. Childs a 
large photograph, taken about the time he 
left Chicago to succeed Sherman in command 
of the army. It shows Sheridan in the full 
uniform of his rank, and was his favorite 
picture. Supposing, upon receipt of the 
photograph, that the general intended that 
he should select an artist, Mr. Childs com- 
missioned Mrs. Darragh to paint the portrait, 
and she proceeded with the preliminary 



176 Recollections. 

work, using the photograph referred to. 
Some time thereafter I received a letter 
from Mr. Childs informing me that Mrs. 
Darragh would visit Washington to consult 
General Sheridan about giving her ' sittings/ 
and requesting me to arrange with the gen- 
eral for an interview. He was very much 
displeased upon being informed of the se- 
lection of Mrs. Darragh, and declared, with 
an exhibition of temper, that he would not 
see her. He did not believe a woman could 
paint a man's portrait. Finally he cooled 
down and said the woman should have a 
fair chance. Upon her arrival in Washing- 
ton I accompanied Mrs. Darragh to the War 
Department and presented her to the gen- 
eral. The lady went to the Department 
with fear and trembling. She had been 
informed that Sheridan was not pleased 
with her selection, that he was a choleric, ill- 
mannered man, and she therefore imagined 
that he would be frigid, turbulent, and dis- 
agreeable. I assured the lady that she had 
received a wrong impression about Sheridan, 
— that he was quiet and gentlemanly in de- 
portment, and that she would be given a 
kind reception and respectful hearing. It 
was plain, however, that she was not im- 
pressed with my estimate of the general, 



West Point. 177 

and entered his office with nervous appre- 
hension which she vainly strove to conceal. 
The general received Mrs. Darragh with 
the utmost kindness. A cadet of the first 
class could not have exhibited greater 
suavity. The lady was made to feel at per- 
fect ease. After considerable talk about 
the work in hand, Sheridan said to Mrs. 
Darragh, — 

" ' I have an idea you artists get your 
own individuality into your work. I have 
been painted by artists of several nationali- 
ties, but never by a woman. The Italian 
artist made me look like a brigand; the 
Frenchman made me resemble JSTapoleon, 
between whom and myself there is no physi- 
cal resemblance, except, perhaps, in height; 
the Spaniard made me look like two or three 
Mexican generals whom I have met. Now, 
madam/ he continued, with a twinkle in his 
eye, and a smile that illuminated his bronzed 
features, ' I am confident you will make a 
good picture, but I beg you will not make 
me look like a woman.' 

" Mrs. Darragh brought her canvas to 
Washington, where the general gave her 
several sittings. He saw the portrait com- 
pleted in every detail except the sabre, and 
was well pleased with it. A few weeks prior 



1 78 Recollections. 

to his fatal sickness he sent for me, and after 
a general talk about the portrait, which I 
had recently seen while visiting Philadelphia, 
said he desired to have the old sabre which 
he carried through the war painted in the 
picture, and he related to me its history. 
The scabbard is covered on both sides with 
the names of the engagements in which the 
general participated, and their dates. The 
original scabbard, however, had to be dis- 
carded during the war, on account of inju- 
ries received in action. It had been struck 
several times by musket-balls and bruised 
in three or four places by being kicked or 
trampled by horses. Finally a new scabbard 
had to be procured, and this shows signs of 
hard usage. I had the sabre forwarded to 
Mr. Childs. After he was struck down by 
disease, and before his removal from Wash- 
ington to Nonquitt, the general sent me an 
inquiry about the sabre, and received the 
assurance that it was in Mr. Childs's posses- 
sion and would be carefully guarded. Its 
next and final duty was to rest on Sheridan's 
coffin. After his death the artist changed 
the uniform in the portrait from that of lieu- 
tenant-general to that of general, to which 
rank he succeeded by act of Congress while 
on his death-bed. 



West Point 179 

" The same artist was selected to paint 
General Sherman, but before it was finished 
members of the general's family expressed 
a desire to have the portrait made to repre- 
sent him as he looked fifteen years ago. The 
general yielded to this desire, and the artist 
changed the face, using for a guide the por- 
trait of Sherman by Huntington, painted in 
1874, which now hangs in the War Depart- 
ment, and which General Sherman regards 
as the best portrait ever made of him, in 
which judgment 'Mrs. Sherman and the 
family concurred."* 

From the New York Sim, February 14, 

1888: 

THE WEST POINT " REPOET." 

" Washington, February 13. — The Mili- 
tary Academy Appropriation Bill is expected 
to go through both Houses this year without 

* Writing to me, under date of New York, Septem- 
ber 18, 1889, Sir Edwin Arnold speaks flatteringly of 
my Recollections of Grant, u which," he says, "I have 
read with all the more profit and pleasure because I 
have met General Sherman here, and we talked much 
about Grant, whom you knew so well. He shows in 
your most interesting paragraphs all that I believed him, 
— a noble, grand, and beautiful hero, raised up to save 
his country in her dark hour." 



1 80 Recollections. 

opposition, and possibly even without dis- 
cussion, unless with a view to giving some 
members an opportunity to pay a compli- 
ment like that which was so pleasantly in- 
troduced by General Wheeler recently, when 
he presented to the House the Report of the 
Board of Visitors for the past year. The 
distinguished Alabama cavalryman and Con- 
gressman is a graduate of West Point, a 
soldier of renown, and qualified to discuss 
with professional intelligence the important 
subject-matter of the report, which is that 
of military science and education. Never- 
theless, representing no doubt the judgment 
of his colleagues on the Board of Visitors, 
as well as his own, he committed the fortunes 
of the report exclusively to the weight it 
would carry as the utterances of Mr. George 
W. Childs, the President of the visiting body. 
General Wheeler's address, as reported in 
full in the Congressional Record, was as 
follows : 

" ' Mr. Speaker, in presenting the report 
of the President of the Board of Visitors to 
the Military Academy, I desire to ask present 
action on the resolution which I send to the 
Clerk's desk. 

" ' The high character of the distinguished 
President of the Board must add much 



West Point. 181 

weight to the suggestions contained in the 
report. 

"' They are made by a man whose phil- 
anthropic generosity is not limited by the 
boundaries of municipalities, States, sections, 
or peoples, but extends beyond oceans, to 
races foreign to us in language, customs, and 
ideas; a man whose purpose in life is to do 
good to mankind, and to help the weak and 
the lowly. 

" ' The recommendations of such a man 
upon the subject treated of in the report 
cannot be too widely disseminated.' 

" On examination the report, which is now 
distributed to the public, is really found to 
be signed not only by Mr. Childs as Presi- 
dent, but by General Wheeler, as Vice-Presi- 
dent, by TV". A. Courtney, Secretary, and by 
eight other gentlemen, beginning with Gen- 
eral E. H. Anderson, of Georgia, and ending 
with the Hon. Ben. Butterworth, of Ohio. 
There is also a minority report signed by Mr. 
George H. Bates, of Delaware. It is further 
observable that the plural verb is always used 
w r ith the w T ord Board as a subject in the main 
report, in such phrases as ' the Board are,' 
4 the Board think,' ' the Board feel/ and so 
on. This does not appear to be a mere ex- 
tension of the editorial we; yet, as will be 
16 



182 Recollections. 

seen by the speech of General Wheeler, that 
gentleman preferred to efface not only him- 
self, but all his colleagues, and to present 
the report as that of President Childs. It 
is doubtful, also, whether any preceding 
instance could be quoted of so direct and 
high, a compliment as his, accompanying 
any similar occasion of presenting an annual 
report of a Board of Visitors. 

" The resolution submitted by General 
Wheeler was for the printing of the usual 
five thousand extra copies of the report, but 
it was accompanied with the unusual pro- 
posal to consider the resolution at once, in- 
stead of referring it to the Committee on 
Printing. General Wheeler politely pointed 
out that there was a peculiar reason for 
departing, on this occasion, from the ordi- 
nary course : 

" ' It is not often that we have reports from 
a gentleman like Mr. George W. Childs, 
whose grand sympathetic heart and bank 
account are always tuned to the same 
music; but as the gentleman from Georgia 
[Mr. Blount] insists that the resolution be 
referred to the Committee on Printing, and 
as the Chairman of that committee assures 
me it shall be reported back very promptly, 
I will interpose no objection.' 



West Point. 183 

" The House Committee on Military Af- 
fairs adopted without a moment's hesitation 
or a single change the report prepared by 
the sub-committee for the Military Academy, 
which exceeds that of last year, items being 
introduced for improving the wharf and 
building a new laundry. Probably still 
larger appropriations might have been se- 
cured under the general good-will felt for 
President Childs, as expressed by General 
Wheeler. 

" The annual report of the Board is an 
unusually full and elaborate document, com- 
prising one hundred and thirty-three printed 
pages, and rather a gala affair is made of it 
by the innovation of some full -page illustra- 
tions of landscape and interior views at 
West Point." 



MEMORIALS 



SHAKESPEARE, 



HERBERT AND COWPER, MILTON, 

BISHOPS 

ANDREWES AND KEN. 



16* 185 



EXPLANATORY. 



As there is nothing, however remote or in- 
significant, connected with Shakespeare that 
is without value to those who, with Ben Jon- 
son, "love the man," or " do reverence his 
memory," I have thought that the " story" 
of The Memorial Fountain erected at Strat- 
ford-upon-Avon by Mr. George W. Childs 
would be neither valueless nor uninteresting. 

For the compiling of this Story of the 
Stratford Fountain, which is but a gathering 
and putting together of what has been else- 
where said and written, I have no better 
warrant than that, not only have I found 
therein a pleasant occupation for some leis- 
ure hours, but to me the subject seemed 
worthy of being revived from the newspapers 
— in which, through patient delving, I mainly 
found it — and of receiving a more permanent 
form. Whatever value this sketch may have 

187 



188 Explanatory. 

lies, I know, solely in the fact that it tells, 
with more or less completeness, the Story 
of the Origin, Building, and Dedication of 
the most imposing architectural monument 
erected in any country to the genius of 
Shakespeare. There must be both pride and 
pleasure to every American in the reflection 
that this Stratford Memorial is the gift of 
a fellow-citizen who in giving and building 
neither gave unwittingly, nor builded better 
than he knew; he did both in the confident 
hope and faith, I am convinced, that his gift 
would add another link — however slight — 
to that chain of brotherhood between Eng- 
lishmen and Americans which so many of 
the leading minds in Religion, in Politics, 
in Literature, and on the Stage on either 
side of the Atlantic have been, during late 
years, so earnestly engaged in welding 
firmer, and closer, and stronger. 

In selecting that which is herein presented 
from the great mass of material in the pub- 
lic journals of the day, both English and 
American, I rejected all that did not seem 
pertinent to the objects I had in view, where- 
of the first is to give permanency to the his- 
tory of the Stratford Fountain, and whereof 
the other is to let the story bear record to 



Explanatory. 189 

the general recognition of the fine motive 
which inspired the gift. If I have retained 
anything which may not seem germane to 
these objects, and which should, perhaps, 
have been rejected, I have erred only through 
a zealous wish to present as much evidence 
as possible of the sincerity and universality 
of that international spirit of fraternity to 
the existence of which the newspapers of 
the Old Country and of the New testified so 
strongly in their remarks upon Mr. Chilcls's 
Shakespeare Memorial. 

To the Story of the Fountain I have 
deemed it not inappropriate to add brief 
accounts of certain other gifts which, in 
the interest of the same broad spirit of in- 
ternational brotherhood, Mr. Childs, as a 
representative American, has presented, at 
different times, to England and to the Eng- 
lish people. 

L. C. D. 




SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN, 
Stratford-upon-Avon. 



THE 

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON FOUNTAIN. 



THE INCEPTION AND EEECTION OF THE 
MEMORIAL. 

In the autumn of 1878 the Very Reverend 
Arthur P. Stanley, D.D., Dean of Westmin- 
ster, visited the United States, and during 
his sojourn in Philadelphia was, as so many 
distinguished foreigners previously were and 
have since been, the guest of Mr. George 
"W. Childs. In the course of an after-din- 
ner talk the venerable Dean, whose love of 
the literature of his country was not less 
sincere than his knowledge of it was pro- 
found, spoke feelingly of the absence of any 
suitable memorial of some of those who had 
laid so broad and deep the foundations of 
English poetry. Especially he spoke of 
Shakespeare, and of the strange neglect of 
the British-speaking people to erect an ap- 
propriate monument to him even in the 
place of his birth. The Dean of Westmin- 

191 



192 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

ster was greatly impressed by what he had 
seen and heard in America, and particularly 
was he moved by the noble hospitality of 
w T hich he was everywhere the recipient, and 
which he was modestly pleased to think 
emanated not so much from personal regard 
for himself as from the common feeling of 
kinship which he felt bound the peoples of 
the two countries together. For his cousins 
across the sea he was inspired with admira- 
tion, respect, and affection, and his broad and 
generous sympathies induced him to think 
that no better thing could be done by Eng- 
lishmen or Americans than to strengthen the 
belief that was surely growing up among 
their leaders of thought in the reality of 
their mutual feeling of fraternity and fellow- 
ship. 

The gift of Mr. Childs of the Herbert and 
Cowper Window to Westminster Abbey had 
been suggested by Dean Stanley, and it was 
on the occasion to which reference is above 
made that this eminent divine ventured to 
state to his host that a memorial of similar 
or other character of Shakespeare set up in 
the Church at Stratford-upon-Avon by an 
American would have a certain influence 
for good throughout England and America. 
Subsequently, after the Dean's return to his 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 193 

own country, Mr. Childs wrote to him to 
say that he had considered the suggestion 
of placing a memorial window to Shake- 
speare in the Church by the Avon, which is 
the Poet's tomb, and that he would be pleased 
to make the gift upon the sole condition that 
Dean Stanley would himself not only de- 
termine what form it should assume, but 
personally undertake the execution of the 
donor's purpose. 

In a letter dated December 3, 1878, Dean 
Stanley said, in reply to Mr. Childs, — 

il With regard to your generous offer of the window, 
will you let me delay my complete answer till the week 
after next, when I shall hope to have seen the Church? 
I am inclined to think that Stratford being, next to 
Westminster Abbey, the place (I believe) most fre- 
quently visited by Americans, might be considered 
an exceptional locality. " 

Subsequently, on December 18, 1878, Dean 
Stanley wrote, from Stratford-upon-Avon, — 

"My dear Mr. Childs, — In pursuance of my 
promise I have come here to look at the Church and 
see what place tnere would be for the window which, 
in accordance with my suggestion, you so kindly 
offered to give. 

" I find that on one side of the chancel there is a 
place for windows containing subjects from the Old 
Testament, of which one has already been erected 
i n 17 



194 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

by the collective contributions of Americans, and two 
others remain to be supplied. It would, I think, be 
very suitable that the one next in order should come 
from Philadelphia. It consists of seven or eight com- 
partments, and 1 would suggest that as the window 
alongside contains The Seven Ages of Man, taken from 
different characters of the Old Testament, so the next 
should contain some other Shakespearian subject also 
taken from the Old Testament. If you will allow me 
to think over this, I will do my best for your generous 
intentions. You will be interested in learning that the 
last visitor to Shakespeare's home before my arrival 
here was a Philadelphian ; also the last guest whom I 
entertained in London before I left to deliver my ad- 
dress in Birmingham (which was on the History of the 
United States) was your excellent Minister, Mr. John 
Welsh. 

" We have been much gratified in England by the 
sympathy shown in America for our Queen. 

" Yours, with all kind remembrances, 

"A. P. Stanley." 

This was the last communication which 
Mr. Chilcls received from the Very Rever- 
end Dean of Westminster on the subject of 
the Shakespearian Memorial Window, it be- 
ing understood between them that a window 
such as recommended should be placed in 
the Church of Holy Trinity, Dean Stanley 
undertaking to have it designed and exe- 
cuted. 

The onerous and exacting character of his 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 195 

public duties prevented the Dean proceeding 
immediately with the work, and it was not 
Ions: afterwards that failing health interfered 
with his purpose, and his death, which oc- 
curred in mid-July of 1881, brought to a 
close for the time being the intention of Mr. 
Childs to carry out his reverend and vener- 
able friend's suggestion. 

In 1886, however, it was proposed, and a 
Committee was appointed by some of the 
most distinguished lovers of Shakespeare in 
England, to restore the church at Stratford- 
upon-Avon in which the bones of Shake- 
speare lie. Appeals for contributions to se- 
cure the execution of this object were made, 
not only to the cultivated people of Great 
Britain, but to those of the United States 
as well. Among 1 others who were sreatlv 
interested in the plan of restoration was 
James Macaulay, M.D., an honored and es- 
teemed British scholar, editor of The Leisure 
Hour. Dr. Macaulay. who is one of the old- 
est friends of Mr. Childs, personally appealed 
to him to contribute to the Restoration Fund. 
To this appeal Mr. Childs promptly replied 
that he would give whatever sum Dr. Ma- 
caulav should surest as desirable and befit- 
ting; but before an answer was received to 
this generous offer the Restoration Commit- 



196 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

tee disagreed in respect to the character and 
extent of the work to be done, and the 
entire scheme failed of accomplishment. 
Subsequently, on September 9, 1886, Dr. 
Macau! ay wrote to Mr. Childs, acquainting 
him with the failure of the Committee to 
carry out the contemplated alteration or 
restoration of Holy Trinity Church, and 
advising him that the request for a contri- 
bution to that object was withdrawn. In 
this letter Dr. Macaulay, however, suggested 
that, if his friend had yet a desire as an 
American to pay tribute to the genius of 
Shakespeare in his own town, he could do it 
in no better way than by erecting a drinking- 
fountain to his memory, " to be placed in 
the Market Square, where there is none, 
and which would be a handsome thing from 
an American." Dr. Macaulay added, "I 
think I once suggested this to you, and that 
it might be associated with Shakespeare by 
a motto taken from his works. It would be 
a useful gift both to man and beast." 

Mr. Childs, it appears, accepted this sug- 
gestion readily, it being in happy accord 
with the spirit in which he had previously 
contributed the Memorial Window to the 
genius of the Christian poets, Herbert and 
Cowper, in Westminster Abbey, and subse- 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 197 

quently, the Milton Window, in St. Mar- 
garet's, Westminster. It evidently seemed 
to him to afford another opportunity to add 
to the ties of fraternity and friendship be- 
tween England and America, an object which 
appeared most desirable, and which being 
accomplished in the Queen's Jubilee Year 
would have the greater significance as be- 
ing a recognition by Americans of Victoria's 
brilliant and useful reign of half a century. 
Mr. Childs's hearty compliance with Dr. 
Macaulay's suggestion was communicated by 
the latter gentleman to Sir Arthur Hodgson, 
Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon, who, on the 
15th of December, wrote to the editor of 
The Leisure Hour the subjoined letter: 

" My dear Sir, — Many thanks for your kind letter : 
the name of Mr. Childs is no great surprise to me, and 
I shall be delighted to announce his most generous offer, 
which will supply a much and long needed want in this 
borough, and to move the acceptance of Mr. Childs's 
offer at the meeting of my Council on the 21st instant." 

On the next day notification was sent by 
the Town Clerk to the members of the Cor- 
poration Council : 

" The Mayor requests your attendance at a special 
meeting of the Council to be holden at the Town Hall, 
on Tuesday, the 21st day of December, instant, at 11.30 
17* 



198 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

o' the clock in the forenoon precisely, where the follow- 
ing business is proposed to be enacted : . . . 

" The Mayor to read a letter, dated December 8, 
1886, from James Macaulay, Esq., M.D., the editor of 
The Leisure Hour, London, conveying an offer from 
George W. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, to the Mayor 
and Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon of a Public 
Drinking-Eountain as ' the gift of an American citizen 
to the town of Shakespeare in the Jubilee Year of 
Queen Victoria.' 

" The Mayor to move that Mr. Childs's kind and 
generous offer be accepted, with grateful thanks, by 
this Corporation." 

On the 22d of December Sir Arthur Hodg- 
son wrote to Dr. Macaulay : 

" My dear Sir, — I have much pleasure in enclosing 
copy of a resolution unanimously and with acclamation 
adopted yesterday at a full and special meeting of the 
Council of the Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon." 

The following is the resolution above re- 
ferred to : 

"That Mr. George W. Childs's (of Philadelphia) 
kind and generous offer of a Public Drinking-Fountain, 
1 a gift to the Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon of 
an American citizen in the Jubilee Year of Queen 
Victoria,' be accepted by the Corporation with grateful 
thanks." 

The London Times of the 22d of Decem- 
ber, under the caption of the " Queen's Ju- 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 199 

bilee," gave this account of the Council's 
proceedings : 

"At a meeting of the Stratford-upon-Avon Town 
Council yesterday afternoon, a letter was read from 
Dr. Macaulay, editor of The Leisure Hour, stating 
that he was authorized by Mr. George W. Chilcls, of 
Philadelphia, to offer for the acceptance of the Corpo- 
ration a handsome Drinking-Fountain as the gift of an 
American citizen to the town of Shakespeare in the 
Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria. Mr. Childs expressed 
the hope that the fountain would be evidence of the 
good-will of the two nations who have the fame and 
works of the poet as their common heritage. Dr. 
Macaulay added that Mr. Samuel Timmins, of Bir- 
mingham, had kindly undertaken to obtain from an 
eminent architect designs of the proposed structure for 
the approval of the Town Council. The Corporation 
passed a hearty resolution of thanks to Mr. Childs for 
his munificent gift." 

On the day after the passage of this reso- 
lution the New York Herald published from 
its London correspondent this special de- 
spatch : 

"The Corporation of Stratford-upon-Avon has voted 
the heartiest thanks of the town to Mr. George W. 
Childs, of Philadelphia, for his gift of a Drinking- 
Fountain to the place. In his letter presenting the 
gift Mr. Childs expresses the hope that the fountain 
will prove an evidence of good-will between the two 
nations having the fame and works of Shakespeare as 
a common heritage." 



200 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

With reference to this despatch, on its 
editorial page the Herald, in its issue of the 
same date, said, — 

11 Mr. George W. Childs has given a Drinking-Foun- 
tain to Stratford-upon-Avon, 'as evidence of good-will 
between the two nations having the fame and works 
of Shakespeare as a common heritage.' 

" It was a graceful act on the part of Mr. Childs, 
and is gracefully acknowledged by the Corporation 
of Stratford-upon-Avon, as will be seen in our foreign 
despatches. Such little acts of courtesy are not the 
least effective of incidents in sustaining pleasant inter- 
national relations." 

On December 24, 1886, the same journal 
published the subjoined special despatch 
from its Stratford correspondent : 

" Stratford-upon-Avon, December 23, 1886. — The 
name of the great American philanthropist, George W. 
Childs, will henceforth be associated here with the 
name of Shakespeare. 

" At the meeting of the Town Council on Tuesday 
the Mayor, Sir Arthur Hodgson, while stating that 
Mr. Childs had offered to present Shakespeare's birth- 
place with a magnificent Drinking-Fountain in honor 
of the Queen's Jubilee, referring to a letter which he 
held in his hand, added, ' The donor simply asks the 
Corporation to furnish water, and at night lights. Mr. 
Childs would submit to the Corporation several designs 
for their choice, and he suggested that the fountain 
should be dedicated either on the next birthday of the 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 201 

poet, or on June 20, the anniversary of the Queen's 
accession to the throne fifty years before.' 

" Alderman Bird, amid renewed cheers for America 
and Mr. Childs, seconded the Mayor's motion of ac- 
ceptance and thanks. In the course of some very 
eulogistic remarks concerning the donor the Alderman 
said, ' The latter's generosities are widely known to 
the civilized world. Especially Englishmen remem- 
bered Mr. Childs' s gift of an American Window to 
Westminster Abbey in memory of the poets Herbert 
and Cowper, which had an additional interest from the 
fact that the late Dean Stanley furnished the inscription 
to it." 

After a conference the Council agreed 
to devote Jubilee Day to the ceremonies of 
receiving the gift. 

The Illustrated London News of February 
26 contained the ensuing reference to the 
gift by the eminent author, Q-eorge A.ugustus 
Sala : 

"Mr. G. W. Childs, of Philadelphia, U.S.A., well 
known not only for his enterprise as a newspaper pro- 
prietor, but for the splendid hospitality which he has 
so long dispensed to travellers in the States, — he was 
the friend of Dickens and of Thackeray, — has made a 
graceful and generous Jubilee gift to the town of Strat- 
ford-upon-Avon. Some time since, Mr. Childs offered 
through Dr. Macaulay, the editor of The Leisure Hour, 
to present a Drinking-Fountain to Stratford, as the 
offering of an American citizen to the town of Shake- 



202 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

speare in the Jubilee Year of the good Queen Victoria. 
The offer was gratefully accepted by the Corporation ; 
and a few days since the site for the fountain was fixed 
upon by a committee of taste, including the Mayor, Dr. 
Macaulay, Mr. Samuel Timmins, Mr. Charles Flower, 
and several members of the Town Council, accom- 
panied by the Borough Surveyor. It was finally de- 
cided to erect the fountain in the large open space in 
llother Street, which is midway between the Great 
Western Railway Station and the central part of the 
town. 

11 Mr. G. W. Childs has already won golden opinions 
of the English people by his munificence in placing in 
Westminster Abbey a noble window of stained glass 
in memory of two English poets and worthies, George 
Herbert and William Cowper. 

"G.A. Sala." 

On February 17, 1887, the New York 
Herald's special correspondent at Stratford- 
upon-Avon cabled these particulars with 
regard to the proposed gift : 

" Sir Arthur Hodgson, the Mayor, Dr. Macaulay, 
editor of The Leisure Hour, the friend and correspond- 
ent of Mr. George W. Childs, with members of the local 
Town Council, met here today and decided upon the 
site and the design for a Drinking-Fountain, which is 
the Jubilee gift of Mr. Childs to Shakespeare's town. 
As hitherto cabled to the Herald, the design is by the 
architect Cossins, of Birmingham. The structure will 
be of granite, sixty feet high, the base being twenty- 
eight feet in diameter, and in the upper part four. It 
is to be faced by an antique clock, with an archway 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 203 

under the centre cut through the base and wide enough 
for one vehicle. Underneath, beside a drinking-trough 
for horses, is a smaller one for dogs. At the entrances 
are cups. 

" Upon the panel of the base is the inscription. 'The 
gift of an American citizen, George William Childs. of 
Philadelphia, to the town of Shakespeare, in the Jubi- 
lee Year of Queen Victoria.' There are to be four mot- 
toes cast. One will be from Washington Irving' s de- 
scription of Stratford-upon-Avon ; another will be this 
Shakespearian line from Timon : ' Honest water that 
ne'er left any man in the mire.' The remaining two 
are not yet known. They are probably to be selected 
by Mr. Childs. 

" The design harmonizes well with the principal 
tower of the Shakespearian memorial buildings. The 
site is in the open market-place, near Eother Street. 
midway between the centre of the town and the great 
railway station, and within five minutes' walk of 
Shakespeare's house and the church-yard.'' 

The Council of Stratford proceeded with 
the work with commendable energy. In its 
mid-month issue of the ensuing June the 
Illustrated London News published a sketch 
of the fountain, with the accompanying in- 
teresting description of it, which the Xew 
York World published subsequently : 

11 A lofty, spire-like, and highly ornamental Drink- 
ing-Fountain. with clock tower, is now being built in 
the Rother Market, Stratford-upon-Avon, at the cost 
of Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, an Ameri- 



204 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

can citizen, who, by this munificent and noble gift to 
the birthplace of Shakespeare, supplies the inhabitants 
of the town with what has long been felt to be one of 
its most pressing needs. It will be a durable and 
beautiful memorial of the friendly feeling existing 
between the two nations in this Jubilee Year of our 
Queen. The base of the tower is square on plan, with 
the addition of boldly projecting buttresses placed 
diagonally at the four corners, terminating with acutely 
pointed gablets surmounted by a lion bearing the arms 
of Great Britain alternately with the American eagle 
associated with the Stars and Stripes. On the north 
face is a polished granite basin, having the outline of 
a large segment of a circle, into which a stream of 
water is to flow constantly from a bronze spout ; on 
the east and west sides are large troughs, of the same 
general outline and material, for the use of horses and 
cattle, and beneath these smaller troughs for sheep and 
dogs. On the south side is a door affording admission 
to the interior, flanked by two shallow niches, in one 
of which will be placed a barometer and in the other 
a thermometer, both of the best construction. Imme- 
diately over the basins and the door are moulded 
pointed arches, springing from dwarf columns, with 
carved capitals. The tympanum of each arch is filled 
by geometric tracery, profusely enriched with carvings 
of foliage. 

" The next story of the tower has on each face a 
triple arcade with moulded pointed trefoiled arches on 
slender shafts. The arches are glazed, and light a 
small chamber, in which the clock is to be placed. At 
the corners are cylindrical turrets, terminating in con- 
ical spirelets in two stages, the surfaces of the cones 
enriched with scale-like ornament. In the next story 
are the four dials of the clock, under crocketed gables, 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 205 

with finials representing ' Puck.' ' Mustard-seed,' ' Peas- 
blossom,' and ' Cobweb.' The clock-faces project 
slightly from a cylindrical tower flanked by four other 
smaller three-quarter attached turrets of the same 
plan ; from the main central cylinder springs a spire 
of a slightly concave outline, and the four turrets 
have similar but much smaller spirelets, all five spring- 
ing from the same level, and all terminating in lofty 
gilded vanes. Immediately below the line of spring- 
ing is a band of panelling formed of narrow trefoiled 
arches. The central spire has on four opposite sides 
gableted spire-lights, and, at about one-third of its 
height, a continuous band of narrow lights to spread 
the sound of the clock-bells. The height from the road 
fco the top of the vane is sixty feet. The clock will be 
illuminated at night. 

" The materials of which the monument is being 
constructed are of the most durable kind, — Peterhead 
granite for the base and troughs, and for the super- 
structure a very hard and durable stone of a delicate 
gray color from Bolton Wood, in Yorkshire." 



Mr. Childs, naturally desiring that the 
name of an American poet should be asso- 
ciated with the dedication of the memorial, 
suggested to Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, 
whose sympathies for the great master of 
the English Drama are known to lie so broad 
and deep, that he should write a poem ap- 
propriate to the occasion. The good and 
genial poet at first stoutly demurred, plead- 
ing that his muse, like himself, was growing 

18 



206 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 

old, and delighted most in restful, inactive 
ease by the sea. But, being further urged, 
Dr. Holmes, on the 17th day of August, 
1887, wrote, from Beverly Farms, Massa- 
chusetts, to his old friend in these words : 

" Dear Mr. Childs, — I have written a poem for the 
celebration of the opening of the fountain. 

" There are nine verses, each of nine lines, as it now 
stands. I mean to revise it carefully, transcribe it, 
and send you the copy in the course of this week. 

" T have taken pains with it and I hope you will like 
it. Please do not take the trouble of replying before 
you get the poem. 

"Always truly yours, 

"0. W. Holmes." 



Two days later the poem as it appears 
in the subsequent accounts of the celebra- 
tion was received by Mr. Childs. Its many 
classical allusions testify as much to the 
generous culture of the author's mind as 
does the rare beauty of his verse to his 
poetic genius. 

In the Brooklyn Eagle there appeared while 
the fountain was still building, under the 
caption of " Childs at Avon," an article as 
brilliant in manner as it was scholarly in 
matter. The writer, who modestly hid his 
identity under the initial II., and of whose 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 207 

paper we make this free, brief abstract, 
said, — 

14 IF no Shakespeare had been born and lived and 
died at Stratford-upon-Avon, I should still remember 
it as one of the most charming spots in Warwickshire. 
Often when staying at Leamington have I set out early 
on a summer morning and spent my day by the banks 
of Avon and visited the house where he was born, in- 
cluding the low-ceiling bedroom in which he first saw 
the light when Mary Arden brought him into the 
world in which, after his death, he was to be the most 
mysterious and inspired of teachers. Many an hour 
have I spent in the beautiful parish church of Holy 
Trinity at Stratford, reading the epitaph upon his 
grave, and feeling, with a much-sneered-at poet, ' Satan' 
Montgomery, whom Macaulay so pitilessly criticised, 
that I, for once, could 

i Tread the ground by genius often trod, 
Nor feel a nature more akin to God.' 

" The gift of Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, 
of a public drinking-fountain in honor of Shakespeare, 
to the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, is memorable as 
being a tribute to the Queen of Shakespeare's nation 
on her Jubilee. 

" The first thought that strikes me — for I leave the 
noble benefactions of Mr. Childs for the latter part of 
this article— is how the immortal Shakespeare would 
have stood amazed had he beheld this grand water- 
fountain erected to his memory. Although he praises 
water in the words ' Honest water that ne'er left any 
man in the mire,' which is to be one of the inscrip- 
tions on Mr. Child's' s memorial drinking-fountain, the 
habits of his time were certainly not in favor of water 



208 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

as a beverage. There were many in that age, like Sir 
Walter Raleigh, who abhorred drunkenness and de- 
nounced it with as much emphasis as King James I. 
did the tobacco which Raleigh extolled with enthusi- 
asm. But it would have taken a long journey, I think, 
to have found a teetotaler in England in the days of 
Shakespeare. ' Good Queen Bess' drank ale at break- 
fast. King James rolled drunk from his throne. 
Shakespeare himself was thoroughly convivial, though 
not a drinker to excess. He lived like the men of his 
time, enjoyed his social glass of sack or canary with 
Ben Jonson, or Burbage and other authors or actors, 
and, no doubt, sometimes woke with a headache next 
morning. There is nothing disrespectful to his memory 
to say that his early death at the age of fifty-two has 
been generally attributed to the effects of a convivial 
evening. A recent Shakespearian enthusiast, Mrs. Dall, 
sa}"s, in her ' Handbook to Shakespeare,' ' The pleasant 
days went on for a few weeks. Jonson and Drayton 
came to see Shakespeare, and very likely went to the 
old inn where he had been accustomed to watch the 
antics of a u fool," that he might immortalize him in 
the company of Sly, Naps, Turf, and Pimpernell. The 
hilarity of the party had attracted the attention of the 
villagers, for when, in March, 1616, the poet was 
stricken with fever, the rumor ran that it came from 
too much drinking with his friends.' He died on the 
23d of April. 

u But if, as I have ventured to suggest, Shakespeare 
would have been amazed at a water-fountain erected to 
his memory, he would probably have been still more 
avstonished at such poor relations as dogs and horses 
participating with his fellow-citizens in the benefit of 
it. Such is Mr. Childs's arrangement, and I think it 
indicates the true humanity of his nature. The dog 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 209 

is the only animal that will forsake his own kind for 
the sake of man and will die upon his master's grave. 
There are miscreants and scoundrels in all races, and 
the canine is not an exception. But there are as many 
virtuous dogs as virtuous men, and from them we may 
learn affection, patience, long-suffering, unselfishness, 
and friendship and fidelity till death. No wonder 
that the poor Indian of Pope's ' Essay on Man,' 

' Whose soul proud Science never taught to stray 
Far as the solar walk or milky way, 
* * * * $ •& 

Yet thinks, admitted to that equal sky, 
His faithful dog shall bear him company/ 

"Let us hope that if the great soul of Shakespeare 
looks down on Queen Victoria's Jubilee at Stratford- 
upon-Avon he will approve of Mr. Childs's munificent 
gift to the corporation of which his family, especially 
his father, John Shakespeare, were ancient and honor- 
able members, even though it has embraced the thirsty 
souls of dogs and horses as well as of men, women, 
and children. 

" Of Mr. Childs, whom I have never seen, it is im- 
possible for any public-spirited mind of any nationality 
to think too highly. He is not a flatterer of English 
noblemen, but a benefactor, first to his own people and 
then a hospitable host to distinguished foreigners. In 
fact, Mr. Childs is away ahead in wealth and respecta- 
bility of most of the notables to whom he has extended 
his hospitality. Beginning as an errand-boy, when he 
went from Baltimore to Philadelphia, in mere child- 
hood, he became printer, bookseller, publisher, and 
newspaper proprietor by that resolute virtue of perse- 
verance and honesty which overcomes the world, and., 
while some may envy his prosperity, no one can dis- 
o 18* 



210 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

pute that he has earned it by a life of integrity and 
industry such as few even in America have equalled. 
Upon the fountain in honor of Shakespeare at Strat- 
ford-upon-Avon will stand the words, ' The gift of an 
American citizen ;' and this reminds me of the words 
of the late Dean Stanley, when he visited this country 
for the first and only time in 1878, referring to Mr. 
Childs's Memorial Window in his abbey to George 
Herbert and William Cowper: l There is in Westmin- 
ster Abbey a window dear to American hearts because 
erected by an honored citizen of Philadelphia.' It 
might seem strange that the gift should be made in the 
Centennial Year of American Independence, but Mr. 
Childs has the right idea of the commonwealth of 
letters, and believes that the great writers of the Eng- 
lish tongue belong to the Anglo-Saxon and English- 
speaking races, wherever they may be ; and as he did 
honor to George Herbert and William Cowper, so now 
he has done honor to the greater name of Shakespeare, 
who belongs to no country, but is the admiration of all 
civilized races. 

" Mr. George W. Childs's fountain completes the 
homage which Americans have paid to Shakespeare. 
Years ago, when I talked to an old woman who showed 
me over the house he was born in, she said, in answer 
to a question, that Americans seemed to take most 
interest in it. The case of Miss Delia Bacon is most 
pathetic, although I believe it was not her Baconian 
theory which made her so unhappy. She was a woman 
of singular talent, coming from one of the most big- 
brained families of New England. An early disap- 
pointment had made her feel the need of an eccentric 
enthusiasm, and by the kind and very unusual permis- 
sion of the Vicar of Stratford she was allowed to pass 
whole nights in the church wherein the bones were 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 211 

laid which he forbade strangers to remove, but not 
to keep their vigils by. Although Miss Bacon was 
hallucinated, her ' Philosophy of Shakespeare's Plays,' 
introduced by Hawthorne, elicited the praise of Ralph 
Waldo Emerson. Her special vagary was that Shake- 
speare had not been Shakespeare and that Francis 
Bacon was the real Shakespeare, and so the idol of her 
mind was destroyed by her own imagination. As I 
said, she was not alone in this ridiculous theory, but it 
is sad to think of the lonely, enthusiastic woman wor- 
shipping night and day at the shrine of a god whom 
she would end by disbelieving in altogether. Yet 
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was not much wiser when he 
said of Shakespeare, ' Does God inspire an idiot?' 

" Mr. Childs's gift and its acceptance by the corpo- 
ration of Stratford set the seal, at any rate, to our 
American belief in the identity as well as the great- 
ness of Shakespeare. His will more than ever be the 
shrine which American travellers, with Washington 
Irving' s description of Stratford in their hands, will 
visit. It is said that in Virginia, in a church-yard 
sheltered by southern foliage, there is a tombstone 
with the inscription commemorative of a man who 
died in the seventeenth century: 'One of the pall- 
bearers of William Shakespeare.' The only relic of the 
man I have read of is a pair of gauntlets possessed by 
an American, one of the most eminent and honored of 
Shakespearian scholars and critics, Dr. Horace Howard 
Furness, of Philadelphia. If it be so, it only confirms 
the fact that the Americans have been his greatest and 
most dispassionate admirers, even if the Germans were 
the first to discern his singular yet universal genius, 
and are still the most enthusiastic witnesses of his 
plays. In France, also, M. Taine and other great 
writers, including Victor Hugo, have been earnest 



212 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

lovers of Shakespeare ; but when English or American 
tragic actors have played his principal characters in 
Paris, they have found far less appreciative audiences 
than they have in Berlin or Frankfort or any other 
German city. At any rate, Mr. Childs has helped to 
make one picturesque little town by a beautiful river 
in England more famous than even Shakespeare's 
name had made it before, and henceforward no one 
who visits England will leave it without spending a 
few hours, at least, in the quiet town of Stratford- 
upon-Avon." 

DEDICATION OF THE FOUNTAIN. 

On October 17, 1887, the fountain was 
dedicated with imposing ceremony, an ex- 
haustive report of which was published on 
the following Friday, in the Stratford-upon- 
Avon Herald, and which is here presented 
anew from that journal : 

"All things combined to give eclat to the important 
event of Monday last, — the inauguration of the hand- 
some fountain given by Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia. 
It was a happy thought of that prominent and re- 
spected citizen to arrange that this splendid memorial 
of American admiration for and sympathy with Eng- 
land's greatest poet should take place in the Jubilee 
Year of Queen Victoria's reign ; and it was also a 
happy idea to secure the greatest of English actors to 
carry out the important function. So distinguished an 
assemblage of gentlemen has rarely come together in 
Stratford-upon-Avon. Art, literature, and the drama 
were well represented, and the ceremonial was one of 
international interest. The fountain forms both a 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 213 

welcome and substantial benefit to the town, and a 
graceful addition to its many points of natural and 
historic interest. Stratford accepted the bequest with 
a heartiness at once agreeable to the giver, and illus- 
trative of the friendly feeling of Warwickshire for the 
people of the great Republic of the West. 

"Preparations for the celebration of the event were 
made on Saturday. The scaffolding, which so long 
impeded a full view of the fountain, was removed, the 
final touches were put to the stonework of the elegant 
erection, and a tent was erected in which the ceremony 
was to take place in the event of the weather proving 
unpropitious. Mr. Irving, who performed the inau- 
gural ceremony, arrived in Stratford the previous day, 
and was the guest of Mr. Charles E. Flower at Avon- 
bank. The distinguished actor only finished his Liver- 
pool engagement on Saturday night, this being the last- 
place on his provincial tour before his departure for 
America. On Sunday morning he travelled to Blis- 
worth, via Rugby, a special train on the East and 
West Junction Railway meeting him at the former 
place. On his arrival at Stratford he received a very 
cordial welcome. A large number of people had as- 
sembled on the platform and outside the building, and, 
as soon as he emerged from the railway carriage and 
was recognized, a very vigorous cheer was given. He 
was met by Mr. Flower, and proceeded at once to 
Avonbank. 

" Monday morning, as we have said, opened most 
auspiciously. The sun soon dispersed the early mist, 
and at noon, the time fixed for the ceremony, there 
was almost an unclouded sky, and in the splendid 
autumn light the fountain showed itself to perfection. 
The rich light gray stone seemed to reflect the sun's 
rays, and the vane, which caps the edifice, shone with 



214 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

great brilliancy. The fountain was complete, with 
one exception, — the clock-faces were there, but not the 
Lands. Sir Arthur Hodgson (the Mayor), in accept- 
ing Mr. Childs's munificent gift, arranged for an in- 
augural ceremonial befitting its international as well 
as its practical character. Sir Arthur issued invita- 
tions on a scale of imposing hospitality, and the Clop- 
ton House was filled with a number of distinguished 
guests. Shortly before twelve o'clock a procession was 
arranged at the Town Hall, the local volunteers with 
their drum-and-fife band forming the lead, and followed 
by the Snitterfield brass band. Then came the Mayor, 
on each side of whom walked the Lord High Steward 
(Earl de La Warr) and his Excellency the American 
Minister (Mr. Phelps). Mr. Henry Irving, accom- 
panied by his secretary, Mr. Brum Stoker, came next, 
and then succeeded the Mayors of Leamington, War- 
wick, Coventry, and Lichfield, wearing their gold chains 
of office. The members of the corporation and their 
officers brought up the rear, those present being Alder- 
men Bird, Cox, Newton, R. Gibbs, E. Gibbs, and Col- 
bourne ; Councillors Flower, Cole, Eaves, Rogers, 
Birch, C. Green, Hawkes, L. Greene, Maries, Kemp, 
and Morris. The streets during the moving of the 
procession presented a very animated appearance, there 
being a liberal display of bunting throughout the route. 
Arriving at the site of the Memorial, they found as- 
sembled a very large concourse of persons, all anxious 
to witness the proceedings, and to listen to the elo- 
quence of the great English actor. His address was 
delivered in the silvery tones so familiar to those who 
have seen and heard Mr. Irving on the stage. He was 
studiously brief, but what a large amount of feeling 
and meaning his few words contained ! The inaugural 
speech over, the water was turned on, and the fountain 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 215 

was dedicated to the public forever. Cheers followed 
the announcement, and the formal ceremony soon came 
to an end. Everything had been happily done, and 
the fraternal relations of the two great nations which 
regard the works of Shakespeare as a common heritage 
were thus increasingly cemented. There were mutual 
congratulations : common praise of Mr. Childs's mag- 
nificent gift, of the architect's skill and taste, of the 
builder's sound workmanship. The whole proceedings 
were happily conceived and successfully carried out. 

"The speeches at the fountain and at the luncheon 
w T hich followed are fully recorded below. 

" The Mayor announced that he had received letters 
explaining inability to attend from the High Sheriff, 
the Lord Lieutenant, Lord and Lady Hertford, his 
Excellency the American Minister at Paris, the Secre- 
tary of Legation of the United States, Sir Stafford 
Northcote, the Dean of Queen's College, Oxford, and 
Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps. His Worship afterwards read 
the following letters from Mr. James Russell Lowell 
and Mr. J. G. Whittier: 

LETTER OF JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 

"'Dear Sir Arthur Hodgson, — I should more 
deeply regret my inability to be present at the interest- 
ing ceremonial of the 17th were it not that my country- 
men w r ill be more fitly and adequately represented there 
by our accomplished Minister, Mr. Phelps. 

"'The occasion is certainly most interesting. The 
monument which }~ou accept to-day in behalf of your 
townsmen commemorates at once the most marvellous 
of Englishmen and the Jubilee Year of the august 
lady w r hose name is honored wherever the language 
is spoken of which he was the greatest master. No 



216 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

symbol could more aptly serve this double purpose 
than a fountain ; for surely no poet ever " poured forth 
so broad a river of speech" as he, — whether he was the 
author of the Novum Organum also or not, — nor could 
the purity of her character and example be better 
typified than by the current that shall flow forever 
from the sources opened here to-day. 

" 4 It was Washington Irving who first embodied in 
his delightful English the emotion which Stratford- 
upon-Avon awakens in the heart of the pilgrim, and 
especially of the American pilgrim, who visits it. I 
am glad to think that this Memorial should be the gift 
of an American, and thus serve to recall the kindred 
blood of two great nations, joint heirs of the same 
noble language and of the genius that has given it a 
cosmopolitan significance. I am glad of it because it 
is one of the multiplying signs that these two nations 
are beginning to think more and more of the things in 
which they sympathize, less and less of those in which 
they differ. 

" ' A common language is not, indeed, the surest 
bond of amity, for this enables each country to under- 
stand whatever unpleasant thing the other may chance 
to say about it. As I am one of those who believe that 
an honest friendship between England and America is 
a most desirable thing, I trust that we shall on both 
sides think it equally desirable, in our intercourse one 
with another, to make our mother-tongue search her 
coffers round for the polished rather than the sharp- 
cornered epithets she has stored there. Let us by all 
means speak the truth to each other, for there is no 
one else who can speak it to either of us with such a 
fraternal instinct for the weak point of the other ; but 
let us do it in such wise as to show that it is the truth 
we love, and not the discomfort we can inflict by means 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 217 

of it. Let us say agreeable things to each other and 
of each other -whenever we conscientiously can. My 
friend, Mr. Childs, has said one of these agreeable 
things in a very solid and durable way. A common 
literature and a common respect for certain qualities 
of character and ways of thinking supply a neutral 
ground where we may meet in the assurance that we 
shall find something amiable in each other, and from 
being less than kind become more than kin. 

" ' In old maps the line which outlined the British 
Possessions in America included the greater part of 
what is now the territory of the United States. The 
possessions of the American in England are laid down 
on no map, yet he holds them of memory and imagina- 
tion by a title such as no conquest ever established and 
no revolution can ever overthrow. The dust that is 
sacred to you is sacred to him. The annals which 
Shakespeare makes walk before us in flesh and blood 
are his no less than yours. These are the ties which 
we recognize, and are glad to recognize, on occasions 
like this. They will be yearly drawn closer as Science 
goes on with her work of abolishing Time and Space, 
and thus renders more easy that ;> peaceful commerce 
'twixt dividable shores'* which is so potent to clear 
away whatever is exclusive in nationality or savors of 
barbarism in patriotism. 

" 'I remain, dear Mr. Mayor, faithfully yours, 

M ' J. K. Lowell.' 

LETTER FROM JOHN GREEXLEAF WHITTIER. 

'•'Oak Knoll, Danvers, Mass., 6th Mo. 30th, 1887. 
"'Mr. G. W. Childs: 

" ' Dear Friexd, — I have just read of thy noble and 
appropriate gift to the birthplace of Shakespeare. It 
k 19 



218 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

was a happy thought to connect it with the Queen's 
Jubilee. It will make for peace between the two great 
kindred nations, and will go far to atone for the foolish 
abuse of England by too many of our party orators 
and papers. As an American, and proud of the name, 
I thank thee for expressing in this munificent way the 
true feeling of our people. 

" 1 1 am very truly, thy friend, 

'"John G. Whittier.' 

THE ADDRESS OF MAYOR HODGSON. 

' " The letters having been read, the Mayor said 
he must say a few words about the origin of the 
fountain. It came about in this way. It had been 
first suggested to Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia, by an 
eminent English divine and scholar (the late Dean 
Stanley), that it would be a good and graceful thing 
for an American to leave his mark in the historic 
borough wherein Shakespeare was born, and lived, and 
died, and was buried. After the death of the Dean 
nothing more was said of the project until Mr. Childs's 
friend, Dr. Macaulay, wrote to him expressing the 
same idea which had been four years before presented 
to the giver of the Herbert and Cowper Window to 
Westminster Abbey ; but Dr. Macaulay urged that the 
best gift would be a drinking-fountain, of which Strat- 
fordians stood very much in want. All of Mr. Childs's 
several letters respecting the fountain, extending over 
twelve months, evinced a spirit of affection for clear 
old England, and a feeling of deep regard for our 
most gracious Queen. Therefore we chose the Jubilee 
Year for the presentation. In all this Mr. Childs has 
proved that blood is stronger than water. Yes, in this 
case blood is stronger than water. Mr. Childs had 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 219 

imbued his feelings, English and American, — mixed 
them up together, as it were. Then, of course, ar- 
rangements had to be made. He did not hesitate to 
say that, if it had not been for Dr. Macaulay, and 
the valuable assistance he gave, they could not have 
proved the fountain, as he believed they intended to 
do that day, a success. Dr. Macaulay helped them 
heartily, and he felt deeply grateful for his valuable 
assistance. Then came the question, who should in- 
augurate the stately Memorial ; and Dr. Macaulay and 
himself both agreed that they could not choose a better 
man than their celebrated English tragedian, Mr. 
Henry Irving. They were not at all sure of securing 
the valuable presence of his Excellency, Mr. Phelps, 
the American Minister in this country, and thought it 
better to be sure of their ground. However, he was 
there, and Mr. Irving, and, on behalf of the borough 
of Stratford-upon-Avon and the corporation, of which 
he had the honor to be Mayor, he returned to them 
their most grateful thanks for having come among them 
on that auspicious occasion. He kneAV very well that 
Mr. Phelps had travelled night and day from the north 
of Scotland to be present, not only to lend his counte- 
nance to the gathering, but to endorse the munificent 
act of his noble countryman. It was, again, a great 
satisfaction to the people of Stratford to be able to 
secure the services of the great tragedian, who, they 
were glad to know, was one of the trustees of Shake- 
speare's Birthplace. They thanked Mr. Irving for 
coming among them, and he would conclude his re- 
marks by asking Mr. Irving to dedicate the noble 
fountain to the borough of Stratford-upon-Avon for- 
ever. 

" Mr. Irving, on stepping forward, was received with 
great cheering. He said he had been requested to read 



220 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

a poem which had been dedicated to the fountain at 
Stratford-upon-Avon, — a poem written by a man who 
was loved wherever the English language was spoken.' ' 

Mr. Irving then read the following poem 
by Oliver "Wendell Holmes : 

Welcome, thrice welcome, is thy silvery gleam, 

Thou long-imprisoned stream ! 
Welcome the tinkle of thy crystal beads 
As plashing raindrops to the flowery meads, 
As summer's breath to Avon's whispering reeds! 
From rock-walled channels, drowned in rayless night, 

Leap forth to life and light ; 
Wake from the darkness of thy troubled dream, 
And greet with answering smile the morning's beam ! 

No purer lymph the white-limbed Naiad knows 

Than from thy chalice flows ; 
Not the bright spring of Afric's sunny shores, 
Starry with spangles washed from golden ores, 
Nor glassy stream Blandusia's fountain pours, 
Nor wave translucent where Sabrina fair 

Braids her loose-flowing hair, 
Nor the swift current, stainless as it rose 
Where chill Arveiron steals from Alpine snows. 

Ilere shall the traveller stay his weary feet 

To seek thy calm retreat ; 
Here at high noon the brown-armed reaper rest ; 
Here, when the shadow's, lengthening from the west, 
Call the mute song-bird to his leafy nest, 
Matron and maid shall chat the cares away 

That brooded o'er the day, 
While flocking round them troops of children meet, 
And all the arches ring with laughter sweet. 



The Stratfordrupon-Avon Fountain. 221 

Here shall the steed, his patient life who spends 

In toil that never ends, 
Hot from his thirsty tramp o'er hill and plain, 
Plunge his red nostrils, while the torturing rein 
Drops in loose loops beside his floating mane ; 
Xor the poor brute that shares his master's lot 

Find his small needs forgot, — 
Truest of humble, long-enduring friends. 
Whose presence cheers, whose guardian care defends ! 

Here lark and thrush and nightingale shall sip, 

And skimming swallows dip, 
And strange shy wanderers fold their lustrous plumes 
Fragrant from bowers that lent their sweet perfumes 
"Where Pees turn's rose or Persia's lilac blooms ; 
Here from his cloud the eagle stoop to drink 

At the full basin's brink, 
And whet his beak against its rounded lip. 
His glossy feathers glistening as they drip. 

Here shall the dreaming poet linger long, 

Far from his listening throng. — ■ 
Xor lute nor lyre his trembling hand shall bring ; 
Here no frail Muse shall imp her crippled wing, 
No faltering minstrel strain his throat to sing ! 
These hallowed echoes who shall dare to claim 

Whose tuneless voice would shame. 
Whose jangling chords with jarring notes would wrong 
The nymphs that heard the Swan of Avon's song? 

What visions greet the pilgrim's raptured eyes! 

What ghosts made real rise ! 
The dead return, — they breathe, — they live again, 
Joined by the host of Fancy's airy train, 
Fresh from the springs of Shakespeare's quickening 
brain ! 

19* 



222 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

The stream that slakes the soul's diviner thirst 

Here found the sunbeams first ; 
Rich with his fame, not less shall memory prize 
The gracious gift that humbler wants supplies. 

O'er the wide waters reached the hand that gave 

To all this bounteous wave, 
With health and strength and joyous beauty fraught; 
Blest be the generous pledge of friendship, brought 
From the far home of brothers' love, unbought! 
Long may fair Avon's fountain flow, enrolled 

With storied shrines of old, — 
Castalia's spring, Egeria's dewy cave, 
And Iloreb's rock the God of Israel clave ! 

Land of our Fathers, ocean makes us two, 

But heart to heart is true ! 
Proud is your towering daughter in the West, 
Yet in her burning life-blood reign confessed 
Her mother's pulses beating in her breast. 
This holy fount, whose rills from heaven descend, 

Its gracious drops shall lend 
Both foreheads bathed in that baptismal dew, 
And love make one the old home and the new ! 

MR. IRVING' S ADDRESS. 

11 Mr. Irving then spoke as follows : * The occa- 
sion which has drawn us here to-day has an excep- 
tional interest and a special significance. We have 
met to celebrate a tribute which has been paid to 
the memory of Shakespeare by an American citizen, 
and which is associated with the Jubilee Year of our 
Queen. The donor of this beautiful monument I am 
happy to claim as a personal friend. Mr. George W. 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 223 

Childs is not only an admirable specimen of the public 
spirit and enterprising energy of Philadelphia, but he 
is also a man who has endeared himself to a very wide 
circle by many generous deeds. I do not wonder at 
his munificence, for to men like him it is a second 
nature ; but I rejoice in the happy inspiration which 
prompted a gift that so worthily represents the common 
homage of two great peoples to the most famous man of 
their common race. We are honored to-day by the pres- 
ence of a distinguished American, the political represen- 
tative of his country in England. But it would do far 
less than justice to Mr. Phelps to affirm that he is with 
us in any formal and diplomatic sense. On this spot, 
of all others, Americans cease to be aliens, for here 
they claim our kinship with the great master of Eng- 
lish speech. It is not for me to say in Mr. Phelps's 
presence how responsive American life and literature 
are to the influence which has done more than the work 
of any other man to mould the thought and character 
of generations. The simplest records of Stratford show 
that this is the Mecca of American pilgrims, and that 
the place which gave birth to Shakespeare is regarded 
as the fountain of the mightiest and most enduring 
inspiration of our mother-tongue. It is not difficult 
to believe that among the strangers who write those 
imposing letters U.S.A. in the visitors' book in the his- 
toric house hard by there are some whose colloquial 
speech still preserves many phrases which have come 
down from Shakespeare's time. Some idioms, which 
are supposed to be of American invention, can be 
traced back to Shakespeare. And we can imagine that 
in the audience at the old Globe Theatre there were 
ignorant and unlettered men who treasured up some- 
thing of Shakespeare's imagery and vivid portraiture, 
and carried with them across the ocean thoughts and 



224 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

words, "solemn vision and bright silver dream," 
which helped to nurture their transplanted stock. 
For it is above all things as the poet of the people 
that Shakespeare is supreme. He wrote in days when 
literature made no appeal to the multitude. Books 
were for a limited class, but the theatre was open to 
all. How many Englishmen, to whom reading was a 
labor or an impossibility, must have drawn from the 
stage which Shakespeare had enriched some of the 
most priceless jewels of the human mind! One of 
the inscriptions on this fountain is, perhaps, the most 
expressive tribute to Shakespeare which the people's 
heart can pay: "Ten thousand honors and blessings 
on the bard who has gilded the dull realities of life 
with innocent illusions." Those simple words speak 
a gratitude far more eloquent and enduring than whole 
volumes of criticism. It is not only because Shake- 
speare is the delight of scholars, or because he has 
infinite charms for the refined, that he wields the un- 
broken staff of Prospero over the imagination of man- 
kind. It is because his spell is woven from the truth 
and simplicity of Nature herself. There lies the heart 
of the mystery. Without an effort the simplest mind 
passes into the realms of Shakespeare's fancy. Learned 
and simple, gentle and humble, all may drink from the 
inexhaustible wisdom of this supreme sage. And so 
it seems to me that no happier emblem of Shakespeare's 
genius in his native place could have been chosen than 
this Memorial Fountain. I suppose we shall never 
be content with what little we know of Shakespeare's 
personal history. Yet we can see him in his home-life 
here, the man of genial manners and persuasive speech, 
unassuming and serene, and perhaps unconscious that 
he had created in the world of letters as great a marvel 
as his contemporary Galileo's discovery in the world 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 225 

of science. And we may conjure other fancies. >Ye 
can picture Shakespeare returning from his bourne to 
find upon the throne a queen who rules with gentler 
sway than the great sovereign that he knew ; and yet 
whose reign has glories more beneficent than those of 
Elizabeth? We can try to imagine his emotion when 
he finds "this dear England" he loved so well ex- 
panded beyond the seas ; and we can at least be happy 
in the thought that when he had mastered the lessons 
of the conflict which divided us from our kinsmen in 
America, he would be proud to see in Stratford the gift 
of a distinguished American citizen, — this memorial 
of our reunion under the shadow of his undying 
name.' 

REMARKS OF SIR PHILIP CUNLIFFE OWEN. 

" In response to a call from the Mayor, Sir Philip 
Cunliffe Owen, who was originally associated with the 
British Commission of the Centennial Exhibition of 
1876, in Philadelphia, said that, as an old personal 
friend of Mr. Childs, he was gratified at being per- 
mitted to say a few words on that interesting occasion, 
and to express the gratitude of a large number of 
English people who had received Mr. Childs' s hospi- 
tality. That hospitality was well known in that ; City 
of Brotherly Love,' — Philadelphia, — and Mr. Childs 
was beloved both over there and in this country. He 
was very much pleased indeed that he should have 
been allowed, in the name of those who loved Mr. 
Childs, — as all who had met him in America did, — to 
join with the orator who had just charmed them by 
his eloquence in expressing their gratitude for that 
noble gift. 

"The water was then turned on, and, filling a cup, 
Mr. Irving drank ; To the Immortal Memory of Shake- 
V 



226 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 

speare,' while the Mayor announced to the company 
that the water had been pronounced by authority to be 
clear, palatable, and good. The band in the mean time 
played the National Anthem and * Hail, Columbia,' 
while hearty cheers were afterwards given for the 
Queen, for the President of the United States, for the 
American Minister (Mr. Phelps), for Mr. Childs, the 
munificent donor of the fountain, for the Mayor and 
Lady Hodgson, and for Mr. Irving. This part of the 
proceedings then terminated." 

THE MAYOR'S BANQUET. 

At one o'clock the Mayor entertained a 
large and distinguished company at lunch- 
eon, in the upper room of the Town Hall, 
concerning which the Herald continues : 

" The Mayor, in giving the toast of 'The Queen,' 
said it was one which, in this ancient, loyal, and his- 
toric borough, was always well received. This year 
Stratford had done its best to honor the Jubilee. By 
a happy coincidence, the foundation-stone of the hand- 
some fountain they had inaugurated that morning was 
laid on Jubilee Day by the Mayoress. They all felt 
that the Queen sat enthroned in the hearts of her sub- 
jects. He thought they might truly say that she was 
the most constitutional sovereign who had ever reigned 
over them. Throughout her long and glorious reign 
we had had a government of the people by the people 
for the people. Of Victoria it might be said, as by 
Cranmer (in 'Henry VIII.') of another Queen, 'She 
shall be to the happiness of England an aged princess. 
Many days shall see her, yet not a day without a deed 
to crown it.' 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 227 

"The toast was received with hearty cheers, after 
which the Mayor proposed, ' The Prince and Princess 
of Wales and the rest of the Royal Family,' which met 
with an equally cordial reception. 

REMARKS OF EARL DE LA WARR. 

"Earl de La Warr said he had great pleasure in 
proposing the next toast, ' The President of the United 
States.' They had that day witnessed a ceremony 
which had excited the liveliest interest of all who had 
the pleasure of being present. The function at which 
they had assisted that morning was more than a mere 
ceremony : it was an indication of the sympathy exist- 
ing between England and America. He thought he 
was speaking the sentiments of the nation as well as 
of the borough when he said that they viewed that 
auspicious occasion, not only as a proof of the great 
interest which was felt in America in the memory of 
the immortal poet, but also as drawing more closely 
the bonds of unity and friendly feeling between the 
United States and this country. 

" The toast was very cordially received. 

ADDRESS OF MR. PHELPS, THE AMERICAN MINISTER. 

" His Excellency the American Minister, Mr. Phelps, 
who experienced a hearty greeting, said, in response, — 

" ' It is certainly a very grateful duty to respond to 
a sentiment honored by Americans everywhere and 
under all circumstances, which has been proposed in 
such felicitous terms by Lord de La Warr, and received 
so cordially by you all. And for the kind allusions to 
myself which I have heard to-day and for your more 
than kind reception, I can only offer you my thanks 
and my wish that they were better deserved. The 
manner in which the name of the President of the 



228 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

United States is always received when it is brought 
forward in an English company, and the kindness 
which everywhere is made to surround the path of his 
representative in this country, are exceedingly gratify- 
ing, because they are the expression, and the more 
significant because they are often the spontaneous ex- 
pression, of the cordial, friendly feeling which animates 
the heart of the people of this country towards their 
kinsmen across that sea which used to divide but which 
now unites them. The relations between these two 
countries are not the property of themselves alone ; 
they are the property of the civilized world. It would 
be a calamity too great to be anticipated, and which I 
trust may never be realized, to all the civilized world 
if these relations were to be severed. But it is to be 
borne in mind that they depend far less upon govern- 
ments and public men than upon the spirit which 
animates the people on either side. Mr. Irving happily 
remarked this morning that I was not here in a diplo- 
matic capacity. Diplomacy, that black art as it used 
to be known in the world, and I hope has ceased to be 
known, has very little place among the straightforward 
Saxon race. It cannot be too strongly borne in mind, 
I think, that it is on the cultivation of a friendly spirit 
on both sides that our cordial relations depend. So 
far as I have observed, people do not quarrel unless 
they desire it. When they are hostile, provocation is 
not far to seek ; when they are friendly, there are very 
few provocations that will not somehow be patched up 
and adjusted. It is in the intercourse so admirably 
depicted in the letter of my predecessor, Mr. Lowell, 
by which the people of the two countries come to know 
each other and understand and appreciate each other, 
to partake of each other's hospitality, to enjoy with 
each other the amenities of social, personal, individual 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 229 

life, that the spirit arises that will always make these 
people friends. And it may be usefully remembered 
by those philanthropists and humanitarians who are 
anxious to preserve the peace of the world, that it is 
much better maintained by justice and kindness in the 
treatment of each other internationally than it is by 
obtaining paper promises that injustice and unkindness 
shall not be resented. Such promises are either worth- 
less or needless. They are needless while nations are 
friendly ; they are worthless while nations are hostile. 
It is one of the amenities to which I have alluded that 
brings us together here to-day. I must say a word, 
before I sit down, about the gift of my warm-hearted 
and distinguished countryman which has been inaugu- 
rated this morning. I should rather mar what you 
have already heard if I were to attempt to add much 
to what has been said, and so well said, by the Mayor, 
Mr. Irving, and Mr. Lowell. It seems to me that in 
every possible way all the proprieties and all the 
unities have attended it. It seems to be a graceful 
offering, modest, unobtrusive, unheralded, accepted in 
the spirit in which it is given. I wish Mr. Childs 
might have been present here to-day. I wish he 
might have observed for himself the spirit in which 
his gift was received. It is appropriately erected on 
the place where the memory of Shakespeare has extin- 
guished all other memories, a place to which Ameri- 
cans, by the pilgrimage of successive generations, have 
established a title as tenants in common with Eng- 
lishmen by right of possession, — one of those posses- 
sions described by Mr. Lowell, not laid down on the 
map, but of which the title is just as strong as if it 
were marked by geographical boundaries. I have 
sometimes thought that there is no bond of union be- 
tween Americans and Englishmen that is stronger 
20 



230 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

than that of a common literature : I mean the litera- 
ture that pervades and influences the general intelli- 
gence of the country ; the literature that was so ably 
protrayed by Mr. Irving this morning in his observa- 
tions on the character of Shakespeare's writings ; a 
literature which is not the property of a class, but for 
all mankind and for all time ; and, therefore, this 
birthplace of Shakespeare, where almost all the me- 
morials which remain to him are gradually being 
gathered together, here, if anywhere in England, is 
the appropriate place for a permanent gift from an 
American. It is appropriate also in the time of offer- 
ing, — the Jubilee Year of your sovereign, the Jubilee 
of which I was a most interested spectator in all its 
progress from beginning to end. And the impression 
which it made upon me was that its success and its 
distinction did not arise from its pageantry or its cere- 
monies or the distinguished concourse which attended 
it from afar. It has been in the manifestation of that 
deep and universal loyalty of this people towards their 
Queen and their government. That, as it appears to 
me, is the lesson, the significance, the glory, and the 
success of the Jubilee. The loyalty of Americans is 
to their own government •, they appreciate the loyalty 
of your people to yours, and they understand and feel, 
I am sure, through the whole length and breadth of 
that country, what was so well expressed by the Mayor, 
when he said that the throne of the Queen is in the 
hearts of her people. And, therefore, a gift which, 
though it comes from one citizen only in America, 
will be applauded by thousands, and to which thou- 
sands would have gladly contributed if it had been 
requisite, may well come in the year when you are 
celebrating an event so rare in the history of nations. 
The gift, too, in its inauguration has been fortunate in 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 231 

the ceremonies that attended it. It is fortunate that it 
should have been inaugurated in an address so fitting 
and so elegant by a gentleman who interprets Shake- 
speare to both the nations in whom w r e claim a share 
and always shall, whom we always welcome heartily, 
and always unwillingly let go. I cannot wish him a 
speedy return, in justice to my countrymen, in the 
voyage he is about to undertake. I hope he may have 
a safe and happy one. I hope that, when the curtain 
falls in America upon some representation of the great 
master which has entranced a theatre crowded with the 
best intelligence of my countrymen, and when the call 
not unfamiliar to his ear compels him to say something 
for himself, he will tell them what he has seen and 
heard to-day. He may be too modest to tell them how 
much he has contributed to it ; but I hope he will tell 
them something of the manner and the spirit in which 
the gift to his country was received, and I am sure it 
will not make his welcome the less cordial. Long may 
this fountain stand, sir, and flow, an emblem, a monu- 
ment, a landmark — not the only one by many, I hope 
— of the permanent, intimate, cordial friendship of my 
countrymen and yours ! May many generations of 
Englishmen and Americans drink together of its 
waters ! May many a school-boy, creeping unwillingly 
to school, or rushing joyously away from it, w T hen he 
pauses to slake his thirst at its current, take in with 
the water a kindly thought of his kinsmen beyond the 
sea, — kinsmen who have so much in common, whose 
history, whose religion, whose literature, whose lan- 
guage are all in common, and who are to share in 
common hereafter, beyond all and above all, in that 
limitless American future which opens its magnificent 
doors free and wide to you and your children as well 
as to ours V 



232 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 



THE QUEEN'S TELEGRAM. 

" At the conclusion of the address of the American 
Minister, which was received with the most enthusi- 
astic manifestation of good-will, the Mayor announced, 
amid great cheering, that he had just received a tele- 
gram from her Majesty. It was as follows : 

" ' The Queen is much gratified by the kind and loyal 
expressions contained in your telegram, and is pleased 
to hear of the handsome gift from Mr. Childs to Strat- 
ford-upon-Avon. 

" { (Signed) Henry Ponsonby.' 

" It may be stated that a few minutes earlier the 
Mayor had wired, — 

" ' To Sir Henry Ponsonby, Balmoral Castle. 

" ' The toast of her Majesty's health most enthusi- 
astically received on the occasion of the inauguration 
of the drinking fountain by Mr. Childs, a distinguished 
citizen of Philadelphia. 

" ' (Signed) Arthur Hodgson, 

" ' Mayor of Stratford: 

REMARKS OF MR. WALTER, OF THE LONDON " TIMES." 

" Mr. Walter, the proprietor of the London Times, 
proposed the next toast, which he said might truly be 
described as the toast of the day, the health of the 
honored donor of the gift which they had assembled to 
inaugurate. He had no claim whatever to be selected 
for so high an honor as that of proposing Mr. Childs's 
health, except from the circumstance that he had had 
the privilege of being intimately acquainted with Mr. 
Childs for more than twenty years, and that he and his 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 233 

family had, when visiting the United States, received 
unbounded proofs of his hospitality and affectionate 
feeling towards them, which had always made him 
(Mr. Walter) feel when within the States as a free cit- 
izen of that community. Only those who had had the 
good fortune to know America intimately could form 
any adequate idea of the feelings of veneration and 
attachment which most educated Americans entertained 
towards this country, and especially to those localities 
which were identified with noble, historic, and other 
glorious associations. And of all the counties of Eng- 
land, the county of Warwick, perhaps, from the his- 
toric associations connected with such places as Kenil- 
worth, Warwick, and, above all, Stratford-upon-Avon, 
appealed most to the hearts of Americans, to make 
them feel that they were of one kindred and one race 
with ourselves. Sometimes, indeed, it had happened 
that the feeling had manifested itself in a somewhat 
extraordinary and not altogether acceptable manner. 
He remembered one instance of this which brought to 
his mind the feeling which Henry V. expressed towards 
Catherine when he said that he loved France so well 
that he would keep it all to himself. About thirty 
years ago — it might be more ; it was when he was a 
young man — it occurred to an enterprising American 
that there was not sufficient feeling in Stratford-upon- 
Avon towards the memory of her immortal poet, and 
that it would be far better for the good, at all events 
of America, if the Americans put in practice the art 
for which they were known to be so eminently distin- 
guished, — the art of transplanting houses. It actually 
occurred to an enterprising dweller in the States to 
purchase and remove to America Shakespeare's house. 
Whether or not this was intended as a scare to compel 
that which was afterwards done — the purchase and the 
20* 



234 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

public guardianship of that wonderful treasure — it was 
not for him to say, but the impression it made on his 
mind was perfectly fresh, and he had no doubt it was 
familiar to most Americans. It had produced beneficial 
results to them in making them more highly and more 
thoroughly appreciate the honor of being the custodians 
of Shakespeare's house. 

" With regard to Mr. Childs himself he must say a 
few words, though, as the American Minister had said, 
that was a subject on which there was little more to 
say. Mr. Childs was probably personally unknown to 
most of those now present. He was a man with a 
very remarkable history, — one of those examples of 
self-made men of which the American soil seemed to 
be prolific; men who, by an early career of great in- 
dustry, energy, shrewdness, and perseverance, acquired 
large fortunes and employed them for the public good. 
Mr. Childs began life in a very humble capacity, 
making what few dollars he could in the best way he 
could find to his hand. He became a publisher, and 
amassed in that business a considerable sum. But he 
was an instance of a man who, like the Mayor, in- 
stinctively obeyed the wise teaching of their great poet 
by remembering that l there is a tide in the affairs of 
men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.' He 
took his chance at the flood, and became the purchaser 
of the Public Ledger 7 which he had made a most lucra- 
tive and highly honorable paper, and upon that he had 
built a fortune which had enabled him to perform those 
acts of public and private generosity and unbounded 
hospitality to all Englishmen who had the good fortune 
to be introduced to his acquaintance, and of which 
the occasion of their present gathering was one of the 
most conspicuous examples. The other day, in reading 
a book which Mr. Childs gave him many years ago, — 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 235 

a remarkable book, by an American, — he came across 
a passage which seemed to him singularly appropriate 
to the present occasion, which he hoped would be 
sufficient excuse for his quoting a couple of stanzas 
from it. The poet was apostrophizing Shakespeare, 
and said, — 

' Deep in the West, as Independence moves, 
His banners planting round the land he loves, 
Where Nature sleeps in Eden's infant grace, 
In Time's full hour shall spring a glorious race. 
Thy name, thy verse, thy language shall they bear, 
And deck for thee the vaulted temple there ! 

' Our Roman-hearted fathers broke 
Thy parent empire's galling yoke; 
But thou, harmonious master of the mind, 
Around their sons a gentler chain shall bind ! 
Once more in thee shall Albion's sceptre wave, 
And what her monarch lost her monarch-bard shall save !' 

" One word to give some idea of Mr. Childs. At the 
present moment it was about a quarter-past nine by 
Philadelphia time, and Mr. Childs was sitting at his 
breakfast, — a piece of dry bread and a cup of milk, — 
and wondering what sort of a day it was going to be 
in England, and how the most interesting ceremony 
at Stratford was about to pass off, and possibly even 
thinking in what terms his own health might be pro- 
posed. The news would probably have reached him 
before he had drunk his last cup of milk. Now, if he 
had to describe the character of Mr. Childs in a single 
word, he should do so in a word which was impressed 
upon his mind by very early associations, and which 
the Mayor would forgive him for mentioning on the 
present occasion. Fifty-eight years ago he knew a little 
boy at school, with rosy cheeks, genial, beaming coun- 



236 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

tenance, and such delightful qualities of civility, good- 
humor, and readiness to oblige, that his school-fellows 
applied to him the epithet of ' trump.' Most school-boy 
epithets were not complimentary, and he had never 
known of the application of that particular epithet to 
any other boy than that one, whom he remembered as 
Trump Hodgson. He had developed, in the course of 
his interesting history, into the Worshipful Mayor of 
Stratford-upon-Avon. The Mayor would excuse him 
for mentioning the circumstance, and not think he was 
guilty of wishing to infringe upon his monopoly of the 
title, but if he had to apply one epithet rather than 
another to Mr. Childs he should say he was a trump. 
He was a man of guileless habits, unselfish disposition, 
a readiness to do good in any way, and who could not 
possibly do an ill turn to any one. They were all 
indebted to Mr. Childs for having performed an act 
which more than anything else would help to impress 
upon their minds the duty they owed to preserve the 
memory of their immortal bard always fresh in their 
minds. He ardently wished the rising generation could 
be persuaded to read more and more of Shakespeare 
and less of the trash which they daily devoured. He 
commended to them the health of their distinguished 
absent friend, Mr. Childs, and asked them, not only to 
drink to his present health, but also to wish him a long 
continuance of prosperity and happiness. 
" The toast was drunk amid loud applause. 

REMARKS OF DR. MACAULAY. 

" Dr. Macaulay, who, as an old friend of Mr. Childs, 
was asked to reply in his behalf, said he had been told 
by many persons that this gift of Mr. Childs to Strat- 
ford was creating an impression in America perhaps 
even beyond the value of the gift. And why? For 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 237 

the same reason as in England, that it was regarded as 
a pledge of the good feeling between the two nations. 
At the present time there was a very unusual deputa- 
tion in America, — many members of Parliament, with 
others, — having an interview with the President of the 
United States, trying to get from him a contract that 
there should be no more war between the two nations, 
and that every question in dispute should be submitted 
to arbitration. But Mr. Phelps had very wisely told 
them contracts were of no avail unless they were sup- 
ported by public opinion, and he (Dr. Macaulay) was 
sure that nothing would do more to create the desired 
state of public opinion than this generous act of Mr. 
Childs. It was a happy thought, this gift to the town 
of Shakespeare in the Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria, 
and he believed it would strengthen public opinion and 
make any diplomatic arrangement the more easy by 
making the two peoples feel that they had a common 
origin, a common feeling, and a common sympathy in 
all things, and when England and America were joined 
there was good hope for the security of the freedom and 
progress of the civilized world. 

MR. IRYING'S REMARKS. 

" Mr. C. E. Flower said he was sure that the Mayor 
had allotted to him a most pleasing as well as a most 
honorable duty in asking him to propose the health of 
their friend, Mr. Henry Irving. 

i; Mr. Irving, who was greeted with cheers again 
and again renewed, said : ' I thank you most heartily 
for your most kind welcome. An actor can crave 
no higher distinction than that of being prominently 
associated with some public work in connection with 
Shakespeare's memory in Shakespeare's native town. 



238 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

It is the lasting honor of the actor's calling that the 
poet of all time was a player, and that he achieved im- 
mortality by writing for the stage. Of all the elo- 
quent tributes which have been paid to Shakespeare 
one ever recalls the words of his fellow-actors, to whose 
loving care we owe the first edition of his works, and 
who tell us that il as he was a happy imitator of Nature, 
he was a most gentle expresser of it." All we can desire 
in the artistic embodiment of life this u most gentle 
expresser of Nature" has given us. I would like to 
quote a few words on this subject which seem to me to 
embrace a very great deal, — a few words written by your 
Excellency's famous countryman Emerson, in which he 
pays Shakespeare a tribute which it would be very 
difficult to excel. He says, "We can discern, by his 
ample pictures of the gentleman and the king, what 
forms and humanities pleased him ; his delight in troops 
of friends, in large hospitality, in cheerful giving. Let 
Timon, let Warwick, let Antonio the merchant answer 
for his great heart. So far from Shakespeare being the 
least known, he is the one person in all modern history 
known to us. What point of morals, of manners, of 
economy, of philosophy, of religion, of taste, of the 
conduct of life, has he not settled? What mystery 
has he not signified his knowledge of? What offices, 
or functions, or district of man's work has he not re- 
membered? What king has he not taught state, as 
Talma taught Napoleon? What maiden has not found 
him finer than her delicacy? What lover has he not 
outloved? What sage has he not outseen? What 
gentleman has he not instructed in the rudeness of his 
behavior ?" These are things which the actor treasures 
to the full as dearly as the student, and the actor's art 
to-day comes much nearer Shakespeare's estimate of 
its importance in the intellectual life of the community 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 239 

than in the times when the corporation of Stratford 
refused to permit the performance of Shakespeare's 
plays. I don't intend that reminder to touch any 
tender spot in your municipal pride now, for the 
players were not treated with contumely in Stratford 
at all, and perhaps it was the influence of Shakespeare's 
memory which induced the corporation on one occasion 
to pay them the handsome sum of forty shillings .to 
keep away. But times are better now, and I am quite 
sure that when a troop of Lyceum players come to 
Stratford they will settle down under the wing of the 
Worshipful Mayor. In a few days I shall sail for the 
great country where any worthy representation of 
Shakespeare on the stage commands as stanch support 
from the public as in our own, and I cannot help thank- 
ing Mr. Phelps for his most genial words, which repre- 
sent the more than cordial — I may say affectionate — 
welcome which we have always received from his 
countrymen. I shall act as your ambassador to Mr. 
Childs, and I hope that in the course of the next fort- 
night I may convey to him your enthusiastic appre- 
ciation of his generous gift. I shall remember, Mr. 
Walter, your kind wishes and the affectionate tribute 
you have paid him, and I shall be the happy person to 
convey, I hope, to him my impressions of to-day. The 
ceremonial of to-day must have given the greatest 
pleasure to all, for it has renewed our hallowed asso- 
ciations with the mighty dead, and it has reminded 
two great nations of a bond which no calamity can 
dissolve. And, believe me, I am sure it will make 
every English-speaking actor in the world prouder 
than ever of the calling which I have the privilege of 
representing here to-day.' 

" The Mayor, in the course of the afternoon, re- 



240 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

ceived the following telegraphic despatch from the 
donor of the fountain : 

" l Philadelphia. 
" i To Sir Arthur Hodgson : 

" ' You have my warmest thanks for the enlightened 
attention you gave to everything relating to the Shake- 
speare Fountain, and its successful dedication, which 
is a personal courtesy superadded to the official duty so 
well performed, and which it was certainly very gra- 
cious jn you to bestow. 

" ' George W. Childs.' 

"An occasional poem, written by Mrs. K. S. de C. 
Laffan, on the opening of the fountain, was read by 
Mr. Henry Irving to the company assembled at Avon 
Bank on the eve of the ceremony : 

" ' Brothers yet, though ocean sever 

Your free land that fronts the west 
From the church-yard by the river, 
Where our coin in on fathers rest : 

" ' Brothers, by the twin rills flowing 
From one fount of English speech, 
By the common memories glowing 
Deep within the heart of each : 

" ' It is yours, as it is ours, 

This most favored spot of earth, 
Where the spring-time crowned with flowers 
Gave our gentle Shakespeare birth. 

"'Here, where every stone reminds us 
Of the name that each reveres, 
Symbol of the love that binds us, 

Changeless through the changing years, 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 241 

" ' Rear the fountain : let the chiming 
Of its peal of silver bells 
Thrill like some sweet singer's rhyming 
Every heart in Avon's dells. 

" ' Let its waters, softly plashing, 
Woo the weary and the worn, 
Brightly through the gloaming flashing, 
Brightly through the summer morn. 

"'So the wanderer onward pressing, 
Thirsty, way-worn, weak of knee, 
Halting here shall drink a blessing 
To a Friend beyond the Sea.' " 

VOICE OF THE PRESS. 

The London Times, on the next day, 
October 18, published an account of the 
dedication ceremonies, including the poem 
of Dr. Holmes, the addresses, and letters 
above given, filling four of its broad long 
columns, which it prefaced as follows, under 
the caption of " Shakespeare and America :" 

" For all English-speaking people there is a pecu- 
liar and almost romantic charm about the town in 
which the opening and closing scenes in the life of 
Shakespeare were enacted. So inseparably, indeed, 
are most of the scanty personal records of the poet 
associated with Stratford-upon-Avon that the place 
itself has long since been invested with a character 
not far removed from that attaching to the shrine of 
a saint in the Middle Ages. Thousands of pilgrims 
annually resort to the quaint little midland town to 
examine with an interest akin to reverence the relics 
L q 21 



242 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

it contains, to look on scenes which must have been 
familiar to the poet, and to stand on the ground for- 
ever sacred to his name and memory. Since the days 
of Washington Irving, American faces have been as 
numerous in Stratford as those of English people, and 
a handsome Memorial Window in the church where 
Shakespeare's dust reposes bears testimony to Ameri- 
can appreciation of the poet and his work. Another 
evidence of transatlantic veneration for the memory of 
Shakespeare was seen yesterday at Stratford. This time 
the Memorial has assumed the form of a public drinking 
fountain and clock-tower, which an American citizen, 
Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, has presented 
to the town. The ceremony connected with the dedi- 
cation of this new monument was one which can hardly 
fail to be of general and almost world-wide interest. 
The representative company which had assembled to 
witness the event, together with the international char- 
acter of the gift itself, conspired to lend a more than 
ordinary importance to the proceedings on this occasion. 
" The ceremony of inaugurating the fountain was 
performed yesterday at noon by Mr. Henry Irving, in 
the presence of the Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon (Sir 
Arthur Hodgson, K.C.M.G.), the Corporation, and a 
very numerous assemblage of visitors and townspeople. 
In the main streets of Stratford the Union Jack and 
the Stars and Stripes were conspicuously displayed, 
and the town wore an air of festivity and gayety 
throughout the day." 

On the same clay the London Daily Tele- 
graph published an account of the celebra- 
tion as extended as that of the Times, with 
the subjoined introduction : 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 243 

"Stratford-upon-Avon — supremely lovely at all 
times ; hallowed with its immortal memory of Shake- 
speare ; consecrated to literary men and all lovers of 
the stage by anniversaries, and jubilees, and kindly 
ceremonies without number — was never lovelier than 
on the sunny October morning when, under the happy 
auspices of sunshine and good-fellowship, the leading 
actor of England dedicated, inaugurated, and conse- 
crated the gift of an American citizen to the home and 
the birthplace of the poet of all time. All the hospi- 
table houses in the neighborhood were full of distin- 
guished guests. The genial and popular Mayor, Sir 
Arthur Hodgson, had invited his Excellency the 
American Minister, who appeared not in any diplo- 
matic capacity , but as the mouthpiece and representa- 
tive of his fellow-countryman, Mr. George W. Childs, 
of Philadelphia, whose handsome present of a drinking 
fountain now stands unveiled and flowing with fresh 
water in the old Rother Market, and Sir Theodore 
Martin, who was selected to propose in his own grace- 
ful and felicitous manner the solemn toast of the '" Im- 
mortal Memory of Shakespeare.' 

" There was the imposing new fountain, the im- 
mediate object of attention to the countless pilgrims, 
the beautiful and costly gift of Mr. Childs ; the monu- 
ment all pinnacles and stone tracery, the handsome 
combination of drinking-trough and clock-tower that 
stood uncovered in the bright October sunshine, attract- 
ing innumerable visitors to admire its proportions, to 
discuss its style of architecture, and to read the Shake- 
speare texts engraved on every available panel. 

" Monday broke over Stratford even warmer, sunnier, 
and more genial than the day before, and at a very early 
hour the visitors scattered about in various directions. 
The greater part naturally betook themselves to the 



244 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

Shakespeare Memorial Buildings, on the Avon bank, 
already mellowing down with age, and containing the 
fruit of the anxious and devoted labors of the Flower 
family and their friends. The handsome and insulated 
theatre, standing at the lovely bend of the silent river 
close to the old church, is now supplemented by a library 
and a picture-gallery of ample proportions, and addi- 
tions to both are earnestly asked by those who have by 
degrees made the old town one of the show-places of 
England, and directed thither the footsteps of countless 
American pilgrims, who recite Washington Irving in 
the cosey parlors of the celebrated Red Horse, and 
quote Shakespeare in the busy market-place or the 
quiet church-yard. There was clearly much to be done 
before mid-day arrived, the hour fixed for dedicating 
Mr. Childs's fountain to the use and benefit of Shake- 
speare's native home. No one, for instance, could 
neglect to pay a visit to the old house in Henley Street, 
which Mr. Walter, in the course of the day, pleasantly 
reminded us was, once upon a time, threatened with 
annihilation by an enterprising American, who pro- 
posed to carry it bodily away and transplant it on the 
other side of the Atlantic. The old custodian's bell at 
the Shakespeare House was constantly set ringing, 
and those charming and courteous ladies, the Miss 
Chattaways, were continually repeating the well-known 
lecture in the same pleasant and cheerful terms. 

" Shortly before mid-day a procession was formed 
at the Town Hall, headed by Sir Arthur Hodgson, 
K.C.M.G., the Mayor of Stratford, who was preceded 
by the beadle and mace-bearers of the ancient cor- 
poration, and followed by the Mayors of Worcester, 
Lichfield, Coventry, Warwick, Leamington, and other 
distinguished guests. There was only one sad disap- 
pointment. The worthy Mayor had received a letter 



The Stratford- upon- Avon Fountain, 245 

from Mr. James Russell Lowell regretting his inability 
to be present, and the letter of apology was so eloquent 
that he did not hesitate to read it to the assembled 
people at the commencement of the ceremony." 

Succeeding this was a report of the im- 
posing ceremony, the poem, letters, and ad- 
dresses; and on the editorial page of this 
great journal there appeared a striking lead- 
ing article, the style of which will readily 
be recognized as that of the great Oriental 
scholar and poet, Sir Edwin Arnold : 

" The handsome fountain and clock-tower just erected 
in Shakespeare's town, and inaugurated by Mr. Henry 
Irving, are the gift of an American citizen, Mr. George 
"W. Childs, of Philadelphia, well known already in his 
own country for an enlightened mind and munificent 
deeds. Such a tribute to the memory of the greatest 
of English poets is one that can be heartily hailed, 
and for which, in this Jubilee Year of our Queen, 
there was place and propriety. Equally appropriate it 
was that the dedication of this graceful gift to the town 
of Stratford should have been made by the first among 
living interpreters of the text of Shakespeare upon the 
stage. No actor would dispute this title with the ac- 
complished and scholarly gentleman who has done so 
much to revive popular delight in the works of the 
chief of dramatists, and by this and other examples 
has so notably elevated the status of his profession. 
In the excellent speech which Mr. Irving delivered at 
the foot of the ' Jubilee Memorial,' he touched the cen- 
tral point of the ceremony at once by remarking that 
in that spot, of all spots, Americans and Englishmen 
21* 



246 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

ceased to be other than fellow-countrymen. We might, 
indeed, almost call Stratford-upon-Avon the joint cap- 
ital of the British England and of the American Eng- 
land, as the Greeks looked upon Delphi as the true 
centre of the habitable globe. American life and lit- 
erature, as Mr. Irving remarked, are as much stamped 
with the influence of the Bard of Avon as are our own ; 
and it is at once the most satisfactory and the most 
natural thing in the world that half the names of the 
visitors inscribed in the book kept at the ' historic cot- 
tage' should have after them ' those imposing letters, 
U.S. A-.' We rejoice to think that every American beyond 
the Atlantic longs to visit the birthplace of Shakespeare, 
and almost every one who comes over to our shores goes 
thither first of all if he can. They are quite right. 
Shakespeare belongs to them as much as to us, and the 
fountain of Mr. Childs is an impressive and accepta- 
ble way of emphasizing their sense of property in the 
memorable name. Nor was Mr. Irving otherwise than 
happily inspired in praising the character of the gift 
to the little town. It is simple, natural, homely, and 
for universal use — is a fountain — like the genius of the 
poet. As he remarked, ; Learned and unlearned, gen- 
tle and humble, may all alike drink from it; and so it 
seems to me,' said the speaker, c that no happier emblem 
of Shakespeare's work in his native place could have 
been chosen.' Possibly we English might have been a 
little jealous if Mr. Childs had proposed to erect by the 
silver Avon a colossal statue, or a prodigious pyramid, 
or something which would have made British devotion 
look small; but the fountain and clock-tower are as 
becoming as they are significant of the feelings so de- 
lightfully conveyed in the letter of Mr. James Russell 
Lowell. 'I am glad to think,' he wrote, ' that this 
memorial should be the gift of an American, and thus 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 247 

serve to recall the kindred blood of the two great na- 
tions, joint heirs of the same noble language and of 
the genius that has given it a cosmopolitan significance. 
I am glad of it because it is one of the multiplying 
signs that those two nations are beginning to think 
more and more of the things in which they sympathize, 
J'ess and less of those in which they differ.' 

" Thus, then, even from his ashes our great English- 
man renders us all a splendid new service, drawing 
closer together those portions of the English-speaking 
race which must never again be enemies. The key- 
note which had been so well and justly struck by Mr. 
Irving and taken up by Mr. James Russell Lowell was 
harmoniously utilized by the American Minister, who 
in a most genial and friendly speech said a great many 
happy and handsome things about our Queen, our coun- 
try, and the relations between Englishmen and Ameri- 
cans. Mr. Phelps did, indeed, actually charge Mr. 
Henry Irving with a regular diplomatic mission, for 
he bade the universally popular actor not to lose an op- 
portunity, the next time he was called upon fur a speech 
before the curtain in the States, of relating what had 
been said and done at Stratford-upon-Avon in the 
inauguration of the Childs' Memorial. ' I am sure,' 
said the American Minister, 'it will not make his wel- 
come less cordial ; and long may this fountain stand 
and flow, an emblem, a monument, a landmark — not 
the only one by many, I trust — of the permanent, en- 
during, hearty, cordial friendship between my country- 
men and yours ! May many generations of English- 
men and Americans drink together of its waters !' 
Nothing but good all round can result from so per- 
fectly well-conceived a ceremony ; nor could any 
words more fitly express this than those with which 
Mr. Irving closed his speech of thanks, observing: 



248 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

1 To-day's ceremonial has given infinite pleasure to all, 
for it has renewed our hallowed associations* with the 
mighty dead, and it has reminded two great nations of 
a bond which no calamity can dissolve. And, believe 
me, it will make every actor in the world-wide sphere 
of Shakespeare's influence prouder than ever of the 
calling which I have the privilege of representing 
here/" 

The London Globe of the 18th of October 
said in introducing an attractive account of 
the dedicatory ceremonies : 

" There was general rejoicing at Stratford-upon- 
Avon yesterday, the occasion being the inauguration 
of a splendid drinking-fountain, which has been pre- 
sented to the town as a Jubilee Memorial of the 
Queen's reign by Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadel- 
phia, the donor of the American Window in West- 
minster Abbey to the genius of Herbert and Cowper. 
The ancient borough accepted the gift with enthusiasm, 
and the Mayor and corporation issued invitations to 
one hundred guests. The American Minister (Mr. 
Phelps), Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen, and Mr. John 
Walter were the guests of the Mayor, Sir Arthur 
Hodgson ; Sir P. Cunliffe Owen, and Mr. Walter, pro- 
prietor of the Times, being personal friends of Mr. 
Childs. Mr. Henry Irving, who had accepted the task 
of making the dedication, was among the distinguished 
guests. The early trains brought the Lord Lieutenant 
of Warwickshire and the Mayors of the surrounding 
towns. The weather was beautifully fine, and the 
town was decorated with bunting. At half-past eleven 
o'clock the Mayor and the members of the corporation 
met at the Town Hall, and shortly before noon marched 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 249 

in procession to the site of the memorial, accompanied 
by Mr. Irving and the numerous representatives of 
literature, art, and the drama who had been invited. 
Mr. Irving, in making the dedication, spoke of Mr. 
Childs as not only an admirable representative of the 
public spirit and enterprising energy of Philadelphia, 
but also as a man who had endeared himself to a very 
wide circle by many generous deeds. 

" A telegram was received from the Queen, in which 
Her Majesty stated that she was much gratified by the 
kind and loyal expressions conveyed, and was pleased 
to hear of the handsome gift by Mr. Childs to Stratford- 
upon-Avon. Great cheering acknowledged the receipt 
of this telegram. Mr. Phelps's speech, in which he 
spoke of the loyal feeling towards the Queen enter- 
tained by Americans, was also received with loud 
cheers." 

The thorough and genuine appreciation 
of Mr. Childs's gift by the English people 
is thus finely expressed by the Warwick 
Advertiser, a journal of influence published 
near to the home of Shakespeare : 

" The opening of the Childs Memorial Fountain at 
Stratford-upon-Avon was an event of international 
importance. The spirit in which the gift was proffered 
and received will tend to cement the bond which unites 
us with our kinsmen beyond the sea in that great 
republic of the West, which has such boundless pos- 
sibilities in store for the Anglo-Saxon race." 

In the issue of October 18, the London 
Pall Mall Gazette published a very effective 



250 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

pictorial sketch of the fountain, with the 
accompanying account of the ceremonies : 

" The handsome clock- tower and fountain which Mr. 
Childs, of Philadelphia, has presented to the town of 
Stratford-upon-Avon, were inaugurated to-day by Mr. 
Henry Irving. It is fitting that a memorial to the 
greatest English dramatic poet should be inaugurated 
by that poet's greatest living interpreter on the stage. 
Mr. Irving is, moreover, a personal friend of the donor, 
Mr. Childs, to whom in a few days he will carry the 
enthusiastic thanks of the town for his generous gift. 
Mr. Irving eulogized Mr. Childs as being not only an 
admirable representative of the public spirit and enter- 
prise of Philadelphia, but also as a man who had en- 
deared himself to a very wide circle by many generous 
deeds." 

The editorial comment of the Pall Mall 
Gazette was as follows : 

"It is not often that an inauguration goes off with 
such unclouded 6clat as yesterday's function at Strat- 
ford-upon-Avon. The day was of October's best, and 
the ceremony was one of unique interest, — the open- 
ing, namely, by the first actor in England, of the 
drinking-fountain and clock-tower which have just 
been erected in the Rother Market as a tribute by an 
American citizen to the genius of Shakespeare and to 
the virtues of Queen Victoria. Mr. Childs makes the 
Jubilee Year the occasion of his gift. But it was per- 
haps not so much either the fountain, or its cost, or 
even the international character of the gift, which col- 
lected from all parts of England the distinguished com- 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 251 

pany which assembled yesterday in the Rother Market. 
Few Englishmen have travelled in America who have 
not, like Sir Philip C. Owen, Mr. Walter, Mr. Irving, 
and Dr. Macaulay, been acquainted with Mr. Childs 
and enjoyed his sumptuous hospitality. He has been 
to them a sort of British proxenos in Philadelphia, and 
it was a desire to testify their gratitude and friendship 
for a very lovable man which brought many to Strat- 
ford yesterday. There was, moreover, a certain appro- 
priateness in the selection at the subsequent lunch of 
Mr. Walter, the owner of the London Times, to pro- 
pose the health of Mr. Childs, the owner of the Phila- 
delphia Ledger. In their respective cities those two 
papers represent, and have now for many years repre- 
sented in a remarkable degree, the sober traditions and 
stereotyped proprieties of long-established journalism. 
But if the Times represents what is sober and solid, the 
Ledger is the very essence of sobriety and solidity. It 
has never yet condescended to attract readers by the 
exhibition of posters ; no map or plan, still less any 
portrait or engraving, has ever variegated the uniform- 
ity of its pages. Indeed, many people go so far as to 
say that the thousands of persons who peruse the 
Ledger read it from pure affection and regard for Mr. 
Childs. One of its most distinctive peculiarities is 
that it never says an ill word of any one, not even of 
a mother-in-law. But perhaps the real secret of Mr. 
Childs' s popularity is not so much his abstinence from 
ill words as the abundance of his good deeds. The 
Stratford fountain is one of many public benefactions, 
but his public benefactions, as any one acquainted with 
Philadelphia will bear witness, are far outnumbered 
by a multitude of acts of private charity and kindness 
of which the public never hears at all. ' I intend,' 
said Mr. Childs to a friend on last New Year's day, 



252 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

1 to be kinder this year than ever I was before;' and 
the saying and the fact that he said it are very char- 
acteristic of Mr. Childs. 

" Perhaps, however, of all said and written, the 
sentence that will last longest is one of those selected 
by Dr. Macaulay and engraved on the fountain, which, 
for appropriateness, was never surpassed and deserves 
to appear on other fountains : ' Honest water, which 
ne'er left man i' the mire.' (' Timon of Athens,' Act 
1, Scene 2.) A bottle filled with this 'honest water,' 
and carefully sealed up, was delivered to Mr. Irving, 
and will be duly conveyed by him to America next 
Thursday for presentation to Mr. Childs in Philadel- 
phia." 

In its issue of October 18, the Birming- 
ham Daily Post, a journal which in character 
and influence is to England's provincial press 
what the London Times is to metropolitan 
journalism, gave the subjoined introduction 
to an account of the memorial ceremony, 
which occupied the larger part of one of its 
spacious pages : 

" Stratford-upon-Avon arrayed herself in a festival 
garment of sunshine yesterday, for a function which, 
if not quite, as the Mayor enthusiastically called it, 
1 the crowning event of the Jubilee Year,' was of 
striking internal and literary significance. Mr. Henry 
Irving inaugurated the memorial fountain and clock- 
tower which Mr. G. W. Childs, a citizen of Philadel- 
phia, has presented to the town. The function was a 
singularly quiet one, as all functions in such an old- 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 253 

world place as Stratford must necessarily be ; but it 
was not the less significant and interesting on that 
account. Mr. Childs's beautiful gift is remarkable 
alike as a reverent tribute to the memory of Shake- 
speare from a distant member of the English-speaking 
race, and as a token of the good-will which subsists 
between the British and the American nations. More- 
over, the little crowd which gathered to assist at the 
ceremony was representative in some degree of the 
whole race, of all the learned professions, and of all 
estates of the realm." 

Iii the same number of the Daily Post, the 
followmo; editorial comment was made : 

" Literature and Art, the Press and the Stage, Eng- 
land and America, joined hands yesterday at Stratford- 
upon-Avon, in doing honor to one of the most illustri- 
ous representatives of our common stock, and in doing 
so it is scarcely necessary to add that they did honor 
to themselves and contributed in no mean degree to 
draw closer the bonds of union between the great two 
branches of the English-speaking race. The memorial 
fountain and clock-tower, which were formally pre- 
sented to Shakespeare's native town on this occasion 
on behalf of Mr. Childs, the well-known newspaper 
proprietor and editor of Philadelphia, are not by any 
means the first tribute of the kind which has been 
offered up by American citizens at that beloved shrine, 
which is every year the Mecca for so many troops of 
reverent pilgrims from beyond the Atlantic ; but Mr. 
Childs's gift possesses a special international signifi- 
cance from the expressed desire of the donor that it 
should be construed as a token of good-will towards us 
22 



254 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 

in this year of the Jubilee, and should serve to cement 
the union of two great nations f that have the fame 
and works of the poet Shakespeare as their common 
heritage.' And that nothing might be wanting to the 
completeness of yesterday's function, the dedication 
was graced by characteristic contributions from some 
of the most renowned men of letters in the great 
republic of the West, including Mr. James Russell 
Lowell, the ex- American Minister; Mr. John Green- 
leaf Whittier, the venerable Quaker poet ; and Dr. 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose poem, specially written 
for the occasion, so happily and eloquently expresses 
the aspirations to w T hich the gift naturally lends itself. 
On the English side, the stage, which is under so deep 
and special a debt of gratitude to the great dramatist, 
was not unworthily represented by Mr. Irving, on 
whom devolved the proud task of inaugurating the 
memorial ; whilst the English newspaper press, in the 
person of Mr. Walter, the chief proprietor of the Times, 
cordially acknowledged and welcomed this substantial 
token of good- will from a brother journalist of the 
New World. The Queen's message of congratulation 
was a happy thought, which cannot but assist the 
working of the charm ; and the proceedings altogether 
were of an order to entitle the day to a red-letter mark 
in the calendar, not only of Stratford, but of England 
and the United States." 



On the same day the Liverpool Post, 
another provincial journal of high char- 
acter, prefaced the long and interesting re- 
port of the proceedings at Stratford with 
these friendly remarks : 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 255 

" The fraternal relations of the two great nations 
which regard the works of Shakespeare as a common 
heritage were shown in a happy manner at Stratford- 
upon-Avon to day. Some time ago a prominent and 
respected citizen of the United States, Mr. George W. 
Childs, of Philadelphia, determined to celebrate the 
Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria's reign by a memorial 
of American sympathy to be erected in the birthplace 
of England's greatest poet. Mr. Childs, it may be 
recollected, is the donor of the American window 
placed in Westminster Abbey to the memory of George 
Herbert and William Cowper. Mr. Childs' s gift to 
Stratford has taken the form of a drinking-fountain 
and clock-tower, and their inauguration to-day was 
made the occasion of a ceremonial of international in- 
terest, forming both a welcome and substantial bene- 
fit to the town and a graceful addition to its many 
points of natural and historic interest. Stratford ac- 
cepted the bequest with a heartiness at once agreeable 
to its author, and illustrative of the friendly feeling of 
the Warwickshire people for those of the great republic 
of the West." 

The American newspaper press demon- 
strated, by the publication of special cable 
despatches, by letters from special corre- 
spondents, and by editorial expressions of 
approval and admiration, that the interest 
in and sympathy with the spirit of Mr. 
Childs's gift were not less strong among 
the people of this country than among 
those of England. The despatches from 
Stratford to the New York World filled 



256 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

four and a half columns of that journal, of 
which the accompanying abstract is made : 

" George W. Childs's memorial to Shakespeare was 
inaugurated to-day with much imposing ceremony. 
Stratford-upon-Avon has never before held so many 
strangers within its walls as to-day. Hundreds of 
Americans ran down from London last night and by 
the early morning trains, taxing to the utmost the some- 
what limited facilities of the quiet old town for harbor- 
ing transient guests. The new Shakespeare House was 
packed with transatlantic pilgrims, and some amuse- 
ment was created by the boniface shouting out, as the 
weary wayfarers arrived, ' Take this young couple up 
to Romeo and Juliet.' The chambers in the old inn bear 
the names of the works written by the immortal Will 
— or somebody else. A melancholy American trage- 
dian, lately crushed by the English critics, seemed 
somewhat put out when shown up to 'Hamlet,' and 
an elderly couple from Chicago did not like their 
quarters in ' Love's Labor's Lost.' For the first time 
in two weeks, according to the local weather man, the 
sun shone in Stratford this morning, setting off the 
handsome gift of the philanthropic Philadelphian to its 
best advantage. From dawn until mid-day the roads 
from the surrounding country were thronged with 
every sort of vehicle, from the dog-cart of the gentry 
to the ox-team of the yokel. The local and neighbor- 
ing dignitaries, bearing up proudly under their massive 
gold chains and other weighty insignia of office, strode 
through the broad streets lined with quaint old-fash- 
ioned houses, making a truly old-world picture. 

"When the time came Mayor Hodgson wound up 
the clock in the stone spire, and Henry Irving turned 
on the first flow of the precious liquid. But the arrival 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 257 

of the Queen's telegram was the sensation of the day, 
not being on the card and being quite unexpected. The 
telegraph-operator rushed headlong from the office down 
to the square. Mr. Phelps's speech was interrupted, 
and the precious despatch was read. It was the first 
time that Stratford has heard from the Queen tele- 
graphically for thirty-five years. 

u Graceful in its inception, the generous gift of Mr 
Chilcls was gracefully received, and the ceremonies 
concluded in the most graceful manner possible by a 
banquet, which was as excellent in the material way as 
had been the preceding flow of wit and wisdom. The 
Stratford folk do not seem to be imbued in the least 
with any belief in the Baconian theory. In fact, they 
look upon it as a base attempt to rob their town of one 
of its chief claims to revenue and repute, and regard 
it as being inspired by an invidious neighbor." 

The account of the clay and its ceremonies 
telegraphed to the ISTew York Herald was 
only less extended than that published by its 
neighbor the World, but it was still lengthy 
enough to serve as a brief epitome and chron- 
icle of the notable celebration, its author 
being Hon. A. Oakey Hall, formerly Mayor 
of Xew York City, but at the time of the 
dedication he was, as he now is, an eminent 
London journalist, representing in the great 
metropolis with scholarly ability the Herald. 
Mr. Hall's account is so admirably written, 
and presents so attractive a view of Stratford 
on the day of the fountain's dedication, as to 

r 22* 



258 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

render its introduction here more than par- 
donable. Mr. Oakey Hall said, — 

" The names of William Shakespeare and George 
William Childs will be indissolubly united after this 
day in this city, where the editor's fountain and clock- 
tower were added to the bard's memorials to glorify 
this historic spot. The Philadelphian's gift was long 
ago described in the Herald when the designs were 
adopted. As completed and this morning dedicated, 
the gift is doubtless one of the most artistic fountains 
in the world, as will be seen when some of the several 
thousand photos now multiplying reach New York. 

u At noon a procession left the Town Hall to march 
a quarter of a mile to the fountain, which fronts a 
square formed by the junction of several streets and 
is looked upon by Shakespeare's house. The procession, 
headed by the Mayor and aldermen in full regalia, es- 
corting Mr. Irving and thirty guests, was preceded by 
a band playing British patriotic airs. On arriving at 
the variegated granite gift, Mayor Hodgson, in gorgeous 
robes and chain, presenting a decidedly classic face and 
figure, took his stand at the foot of the steps leading 
up to the fountain. 

u After reading a quaint letter from the poet Whittier 
and another from James Russell Lowell, he briefly ex- 
plained the object of the gathering, with eulogistic and 
well-expressed references to Mr. Childs, and compli- 
mentary allusions to America, ' the adopted country 
of Shakespeare,' and introduced Minister Phelps as 
the representative of the United States. The latter's 
speech, given with diplomatic skill, was short but full 
of meaning. 

" Mr. Irving stood within the dry basin in dedicating 
the gift, and, with fine elocution, made an address last- 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 259 

ing a quarter of an hour, in the course of which he 
said, as a part of the peroration, — 

" ' The donor of this beautiful monument I am happy 
to claim as a personal friend. Mr. George W. Childs 
is not only an admirable representative of the public 
spirit and enterprising energy of Philadelphia, but he 
is also a man who has endeared himself to a very wide 
circle by many generous deeds. 

u ' I do not wonder at his munificence, for to men 
like him it is second nature ; but I rejoice in the happy 
inspiration which prompted a gift which so worthily 
represents the common homage of two great peoples to 
the most famous man of their common race. 

" i The simplest records of Stratford show that this 
is the Mecca of American pilgrims, and that the place 
which gave birth to Shakespeare is regarded as the 
fountain of the mightiest and most enduring inspira- 
tion of our mother tongue.' 

'• The following was his epilogue : ' Let me conjure 
fancies. Let me picture Shakespeare to-day returning 
from his bourne to find upon the throne one who rules 
with gentler sway than the great sovereign that he 
knew, and yet whose reign has glories more beneficent 
than those of Elizabeth. We can try to imagine his 
emotion when he finds this dear England he loved so 
well expanded beyond seas. 

" ' We can at least be happy in the thought that 
when he had mastered the lessons of the conflict w T hich 
divided us from our kinsmen in America, he would be 
proud to see in Stratford this gift of a distinguished 
American citizen — this memorial of our reunion — 
under the shadow of his undying name.' 

" During his speech Mr. Irving referred to the manu- 
script ode which he had previously read, and which 
was written for the occasion by Dr. Holmes. 



260 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

" Then Dr. Macaulay, as a personal friend of Mr. 
Childs, and Mr. Irving, representing the authorities, 
jointly turned on the water into the large drinking- 
fountain for horses and cattle, the smaller one for 
dogs, and the interior one for thirsty pedestrians, while 
simultaneously invisible hands inside the clock-tower 
set the hour and started the works. The first flow, 
however, was caught in a flat glass jar, bought at the 
bar of the Shakespeare Inn, hard by, and was handed 
by Sir Philip CunlifFe Owen to Mr. Irving, to be by 
him presented in person to Mr. Childs. 

" The royal toasts were fully honored. Minister 
Phelps eulogized President Cleveland and gallantly 
referred to Mrs. Cleveland. Dr. Macaulay and then 
Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen responded to the health of 
Mr. Childs ; but the best speech was by Mr. Irving, 
responding to the memory of Shakespeare, and con- 
cluding thus : 

" ' In a few days I shall sail for the great country 
where any worthy representation of Shakespeare on 
the stage commands as stanch a support from the pub- 
lic as in our own land. I shall carry, as your ambas- 
sador to Mr. Childs, your enthusiastic appreciation of 
his generous gift.' 

" In response to a call, John Walter, of the London 
Times, made a few off-hand remarks about Mr. Childs's 
hospitality to himself when in America, applying to 
Mr. Childs the line about taking the tide at flood which 
led him on to fortune. 

"Next, turning towards Mayor Hodgson, he said, 
' We were boys at Eton. Until to-day we have not 
met in half a century. He Avas known at school as 
"Trump Hodgson." When I saw him to-day, my 
salutation was, "How d'ye do, Trump?" And cer- 
tainly, along with Mr. Childs, as I turn from the 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 261 

fountain to the banquet, he has proven himself a very 
trump.' 

" This was heartily received by all the guests, and 
all separated with the line aptly chosen at the end 
of the menu from 'All's Well That Ends Well:' 'A 
good traveller is something at the latter end of a 
dinner.' " 

With no known exception the leading 
newspapers of the United States printed 
special or Associated Press despatches from 
Stratford, which were generally accompanied 
by editorial remarks referring to the cele- 
bration of the previous day. Of the several 
hundred appreciative editorial articles which 
were kindly sent me by their writers I have 
thought it not unfit to use a few to round 
out this history of the Shakespeare Memorial 
on the Avon- side. That which so attrac- 
tively characterized all the elaborate reports 
and remarks of both the English and Amer- 
ican journals was the common recognition 
and fine appreciation of the spirit of inter- 
national good-will which inspired Mr. Childs 
to set up there, near by the poet's home, an 
enduring memorial of the love and reverence 
of all English-speaking people for that sub- 
lime genius who filled not only the spacious 
times of Great Elizabeth but all times since 
with the wondrous wisdom and beauty of 
his thought and feeling. 



262 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

The New York Times referred editorially, 
on October 18, to the dedication of the 
fountain, as follows : 

" The proceedings at Stratford-upon-Avon on Monday 
in dedicating to the memory of Shakespeare the me- 
morial fountain presented to the town by Mr. George 
W. Childs, of Philadelphia, afforded one of those oc- 
casions upon which Englishmen and Americans, espe- 
cially the latter, delight to recognize the common ties 
of tradition and literature which unite the two peoples 
in a relationship made too strong by natural kinship 
to be severed by oft-recurring conflicts of interest. It 
is doubtful if, even in England, there is such a universal 
reading and understanding of the works of Shakespeare 
among the mass of the people as in this country, or 
such a general appreciation of the grand heritage of 
English literature. The sympathy produced by this 
common possession of a language and literature is 
stronger than is generally acknowledged, and it is the 
basis of a mutual understanding that ought to be a 
guarantee of perpetual friendly relations. Incidents 
like that of yesterday, brought about by a generous 
and public-spirited American, are of value in remind- 
ing the two nations of what they have in common, and 
in teaching them to be tolerant in those things in 
which they differ." 

The Daily Neivs, of Baltimore, referring 
to the universal interest which everything 
of moment relating to Shakespeare creates, 
said, — 

" The description of the dedication of Mr. Childs's 
fountain has been given as much space by the press — 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 263 

British and American — as some great political event 
might have been. 

" The Stratford ceremonies were in every way in- 
teresting. Mr. Childs, in presenting the beautiful 
fountain to the town, only did what many others 
would like to have done. Some other object he might 
have offered, — there are many ways in which his ad- 
miration for the poet might have expressed itself; but, 
after all. as Mr. Irving remarked, there seems some- 
thing particularly appropriate in the fountain which 
has been erected in the middle of the quaint old town, 
for the use of all, arid for beast as well as man. 

" The occasion was altogether one of which Amer- 
icans may be as proud as Mr. Childs must be. As 
Irving remarked, it is the Americans who have always 
been foremost in making pilgrimages and paying 
tributes to the Stratford poet. Mr. Childs has done 
many things to show the exalted character of his mind 
and his goodness of heart, and it seems that he could 
not rest until he had made a gift of this beautiful foun- 
tain — according to all accounts, one of the most artistic 
in the world — to the memory of Shakespeare/' 

]STo one has more pleasantly told the story 
of the fountain than has Mr. William Win- 
ter, the poet, journalist, and critic. His 
sympathy with the purpose of the giver of 
the memorial is as broad as his reverent love 
for Shakespeare is profound, and to both 
which sympathy and love he has borne tes- 
timony in books, essays, poem&, letters, and 
criticisms. He is one of the most brilliant of 
American writers, and one whose audience, 



264 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

while always large, is always fit. Harper's 
Weekly of October 22, 1887, published an 
excellent illustration of the Stratford Foun- 
tain, accompanied by a characteristic sketch 
by Mr. Winter, from which are taken the 
following extracts : 

" American interest in Stratford-upon-Avon springs 
out of a love for the works of Shakespeare as profound 
and passionate as that of the most sensitive and rev- 
erent of the poet's own countrymen. It was the father 
of American literature — Washington Irving — who in 
modern times made the first pilgrimage to that Holy 
Land, and set the good example, which since has been 
followed by thousands, of worship at the shrine of 
Shakespeare. Wherever in Stratford you come upon 
anything that was ever associated, even remotely, with 
the name and fame of Shakespeare, there you will 
surely find the gracious tokens of American homage. 

" A noble token of this American sentiment and a 
permanent object of patriotic interest to the pilgrim in 
Stratford is supplied by the Jubilee gift of a drinking- 
fountain, made to that city by George W. Childs, of 
Philadelphia. It never is a surprise to hear of some 
new instance of that good man's constant activity and 
splendid generosity in good works : it is only an ac- 
customed pleasure. With fine-art testimonials in the 
Old World as well as at home his name will always be 
honorably associated. A few years ago he presented a 
superb window of stained glass to Westminster Abbey, 
to commemorate in the Poet's Corner George Herbert 
and William Cowper. He has since given to St. Mar- 
garet's Church, Westminster, where Skelton and Sir 
James Harrington (1611-1677) were entombed, and 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 265 

where was buried the headless body of Sir Walter 
Raleigh, a pictorial window commemorative of John 
Milton. His fountain at Stratford was dedicated on 
October 17, 1887, with appropriate ceremonies con- 
ducted by the city's Mayor, Sir Arthur Hodgson, of 
Clopton Hall, and amid general rejoicing. The coun- 
trymen of Mr. Childs are not less interested in this 
structure than the community that it was intended to 
honor and benefit. They observe with satisfaction and 
pride that he has made this beneficent, beautiful, and 
opulent offering to a town which for all of them is 
hallowed by exalted associations, and for many of them 
is endeared by delightful memories. They sympathize 
also with the motive and feeling that prompted him to 
offer his gift as one among many memorials of the 
fiftieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria. It is not 
every man who knows how to give with grace, and the 
good deed is ' done double' that is done at the right 
time. Stratford had long been in need of such a foun- 
tain as Mr. Childs has given, and therefore it satisfies 
a public want, at the same time that it serves a purpose 
of ornamentation and bespeaks and strengthens a bond 
of international sympathy. Rother Square, in which 
the structure stands, is the most considerable open 
tract in Stratford, and is situated near the centre of 
the town, on the west side. There, as also at the in- 
tersection of High and Bridge streets, which are the 
principal thoroughfares of the city, the farmers, at 
stated intervals, range their beasts and wagons and 
hold a market. It is easy to foresee that Rother 
Square, as now embellished with this superb monu- 
ment, which combines a convenient clock-tower, a 
place of rest and refreshment for man, commodious 
drinking-troughs for horses, cattle, dogs, and sheep, 
will become the agricultural centre of the region. 
m 23 



266 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

u The base of the monument is made of Peterhead 

granite ; the superstructure is of gray stone — from 

Bolton, Yorkshire. The inscriptions at the base are 

these : 

I. 

1 The gift of an American citizen, George W. Childs, of 

Philadelphia, to the town of Shakespeare, in the 

Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria/ 

II. 

'In her days every man shall eat, in safety 
Under his own vine, what he plants ; and sing 
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbors. 
God shall be truly known : and those about her 
From her shall read the perfect ways of honor, 
And by those claim their greatness, not by blood. 

Henry VIIL, Act V., Scene IN J 

III. 

1 Honest water, which ne'er left man i* the mire. 

Timon of Athens, Act I., Scene II.' 

IV. 
'Ten thousand honors and blessings on the bard who 
has gilded the -dull realities of life with innocent illu- 
sions. — Washington Irving' s Stratford-upon-Avon.' 

u Stratford-upon-Avon, fortunate in many things, is 
especially fortunate in being situated at a considerable 
distance from the main line of any railway. Two 
railroads indeed skirt the town, but both are branches, 
and travel upon them has not yet become too frequent. 
Stratford, therefore, still retains a measure of its ancient 
isolation and consequently of its quaintness. Antique 
customs are still prevalent there, and odd characters 
may still be encountered. The current of village gos- 
sip flows with incessant vigor, and nothing happens in 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 267 

the place that is not thoroughly discussed. An event 
so important as the establishment of this American 
fountain has, of course, excited great interest through- 
out Warwickshire. It would be pleasant to hear the 
talk of those old cronies who drift into the bar-parlor 
of the Red Horse Hotel, on a Saturday evening, — the 
learned Guppy, resting from the labors of Her Majesty's 
Post-office ; the genial Cole, fresh from his auctioneer's 
pulpit ; the aristocratic Yet, whose visage so plainly 
manifests his noble origin ; and Richard Savage, scholar 
and antiquary, — as they comment on the liberal Amer- 
ican whose generosity has thus enriched and beautified 
their town. This Red Horse circle is but one of many 
in which the name of George W. Childs is spoken with 
esteem and cherished with affection. The present 
writer has made many visits to Stratford and has 
passed much time there, and he has observed on many 
occasions the admiration and gratitude of the War- 
wickshire people for the American philanthropist. In 
the library of Charles Edward Flower at Avonbank, in 
the gardens of Edgar Flower on the Hill, in the lovely 
home of Alderman Bird, at the hospitable table of Sir 
Arthur Hodgson in Clopton Hall, and in many other 
representative places, he has heard that name spoken, 
and always with delight and honor. Time will only 
deepen and widen the loving respect with which it is 
hallowed. In England, more than anywhere else on 
earth, the record of good deeds is made permanent, not 
alone with imperishable symbols, but in the hearts of 
the people. The inhabitants of Warwickshire, guard- 
ing and maintaining their Stratford Fountain, will 
never forget by whom it was given. Wherever you 
go in the British islands you find memorials of the 
poet and of individuals who have done good in their 
time, and you find that these memorials are respected 



268 The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 

and preserved. Warwickshire abounds with them. 
Many such memorials might be indicated. Each one 
of them takes its place in the regard, and gradually 
becomes entwined with the experience, of the whole 
community. So it will be with the Childs Fountain 
at Stratford. The children trooping home from school 
will drink of it and sport in its shadow, and reading 
upon its base the name of its founder will think with 
pleasure of a good man's gift. It lies directly in the 
track of travel between Banbury and Birmingham, and 
many weary men and horses will pause beside it every 
day for a moment of rest and refreshment. On festival 
days it will be hung with garlands, while all around it 
the air is glad with music. And often in the long, 
sweet gloaming of the summer times to come the rower 
on the limpid river Avon that murmurs by the ancient 
town of Shakespeare will pause with suspended oar to 
hear its silver chimes. If the founder of this fountain 
had been capable of a selfish thought, he could have 
taken no way better or more certain than this for the 
perpetuation of his own name in the affectionate esteem 
of one of the loveliest places and one of the most re- 
fined communities in the world. 

" All the country-side is full of storied resorts and 
cosey nooks and comfortable inns. But neither now 
nor hereafter will it be otherwise than grateful and 
touching to such an explorer of haunted Warwickshire 
to see, among the emblems of poetry and romance 
which are its chief glory, this new token of American 
sentiment and friendship, the Drinking-Fountain of 
Stratford, the gift of George W. Childs." 

I know of no words which have been 
spoken to show the reason for the good- will 



The Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain. 269 

that should forever be maintained by the 
people of England and America, each for 
the other, which more clearly exhibit it, 
than those of " Honest John Bright," who, 
in the dark days of the republic's stuggle for 
life, speaking in 1864 to a great multitude 
of his countrymen in the city of London, 
asked them, — 

" Can we forget that, after all, we are one nation, 
having two governments ; that we are the same noble 
and heroic race ; that half the English family is on this 
side of the Atlantic, in its ancient home, and the other 
half — there being no room for them here — is settled on 
the American continent?" 

The spirit of the question asked by the 
Great Commoner, and which inspired him 
to sympathize with this government of the 
people, for the people, and by the people, is 
the very sentient one which inspired Mr. 
Childs to erect on Avon's bank the fountain 
to Shakespeare, and to set up elsewhere in 
England's sacred shrines other fit memorials 
to venerable British worthies, the story of 
which is herein told. 



THE HERBERT AND COWPER MEMORIAL 
IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 



That which came next in his love for his 
holy office to Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D., 
Dean of Westminster, was the Abbey, the 
story of which he has so fully and pleasantly 
told in his " Historical Memorials." The 
first chapter of this scholarly work, which 
he wrought out to so noble a conclusion, has 
the following introduction, copied from a 
contemporaneous biography of Edward the 
Confessor in a Harleian manuscript : 

" The foundation of Westminster Abbey. The devout 
King destined to God that place, both for that it was 
near unto the famous and wealthy City of London, and 
also had a pleasant situation among fruitful fields lying 
round it, with the principal river running hard by, 
bringing it from all parts of the world great variety 
of wares and merchandise of all sorts to the city ad- 
joining-, but chiefly for the love of the Chief Apostle, 
whom he reverenced with a special and singular affec- 
tion." 

271 



272 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 

Dean Stanley never spoke of the Abbey 
save with the tenderest, most reverential 
feeling. He knew all that could be known 
about it, — its foundation, its growth, its leg- 
endary and historical origin ; its relics, its 
tombs, its shrines, its chapels, its transepts, 
its cloisters, and its illustrious dead. For 
years he had moved and had his being 
among them. Through them he lived in 
all times of England's triumphs and defeats. 
To his broad and all-embracing mind there 
was no difference between the ashes lying 
there of the courtly nobles of Charles I. and 
those of the rude Titans of the Common- 
wealth. It was this feeling which enabled 
him to say, in Chapter IV. of his " Me- 
morials," — 

"Of all the characteristics of Westminster Abbey 
that which most endears it to the nation and gives 
most force to its name — which has, more than any- 
thing else, made it the home of the people of England 
and the most venerated fabric of the English Church — 
is not so much its glory as the seat of the coronations 
or as the sepulchre of the Kings ; not so much its 
school, or its monastery, or its chapter, or its sanctuary, 
as the fact that it is the resting-place of famous Eng- 
lishmen, from every rank and creed and every form of 
mind and genius. It is not only Rheims Cathedral and 
St. Denys both in one, but it is also what the Pan- 
theon was intended to be to France — what the Valhalla 



in Westminster Abbey. 273 

is to Germany — what Santa Croce is to Italy. It is 
this aspect which, more than any other, Avon for it the 
delightful visits of Addison in the ' Spectator,' of Steele 
in the 'Tatler,' of Goldsmith in 'The Citizen of the 
World,' of Charles Lamb in ' Elia,' of Washington Ir- 
ving in { The Sketch-Book.' It is this which inspired the 
saying of Nelson, l a Peerage — or Westminster Abbey !' 
and which has intertwined it with so many eloquent 
passages of Macaulay. It is this which gives point 
to the allusions of recent statesmen least inclined 
to draw illustrations from ecclesiastical buildings. 
It is this which gives most promise of vitality to 
the whole institution. Kings are no longer buried 
within its walls ; even the splendor of pageants has 
ceased to attract ; but the desire to be interred in West- 
minster Abbey is still as strong as ever." 



Nowhere in his story of the famous Abbey 
does the venerable Dean exhibit so much 
feeling in the telling of it as in that part 
which has to do with the great dead poets 
of England. The historian lingers long and 
fondly in the " Poet's Corner," for, though 
they all lie not there, monuments are therein 
erected to the memory of Chaucer, Spenser, 
Shakespeare, Drayton, Ben Jonson, Ayton, 
Davenant, Cowley, Dryden, Milton, Butler, 
Eowe, Steele, Addison, Congreve, Prior, 
Gay, Pope, Thomson, and Gray. 

Dean Stanley's cultivated and refined 
mind sympathized profoundly with the men 
s 



274 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 

of genius who, through recurring ages, have 
by their so potent art made glorious the lit- 
erature of England, and probably with no 
others more than with these two, among the 
greatest and sweetest singers of them all, — 
the Christian poets, Herbert and Cowper, — 
to whose genius there had been no memorials 
set up in the Abbey, though it was long his 
most ardent wish there should be. Among 
those to whom Dean Stanley communicated 
his desire was his friend, Mr. George W. 
Childs, of Philadelphia, and with what se- 
quence is thus briefly told by the Rev. Alex- 
ander B. Grosart, in a note to his complete 
works of George Herbert, printed for private 
circulation only : " To the praise of George 
W. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, U.S.A., be 
it recorded that, on learning the wish of the 
Dean of Westminster and others to place a 
memorial window in our great Abbey in 
honor of George Herbert and William Cow- 
per, as Westminster school boys, he spon- 
taneously and large-heartedly expressed his 
readiness to furnish such a window at his 
own cost. The generous offer was cordially 
accepted." 

Mr. Childs was almost as well known in 
England as in America. His " House Beau- 
tiful" in Philadelphia had long been famed 



in Westminster Abbey. 275 

as the home of the most splendid and refined 
hospitality which had been gratefully enjoyed 
by many of the most distinguished English- 
men visiting America. Among them was 
the venerable, learned, and good Dr. Stanley, 
Dean of Westminster. In a sermon preached 
in St. James's P. E. Church, Philadelphia, 
on the morning of September 29, 1878, the 
Dean, then the guest of Mr. Chilcls, said, — 

" It has been one happy characteristic of the Church 
of England that it has retained both sides of the Chris- 
tian character within its pale. There is in Westmin- 
ster Abbey a window dear to American hearts because 
erected by an honored citizen of Philadelphia, in which 
these two elements are presented side by side. On the 
one hand, the sacred poet most cherished by the eccle- 
siastical, royalist, priest-like phase of the Church, 
George Herbert ; on the other hand, the sacred poet 
most cherished by the puritan, austere, lay phase of 
the Church, William Cowper. That diversity is an ex- 
ample of the way in which God's will is wrought on 
earth as it is in heaven. I have said that we do not 
speculate on the names or natures of angels, yet as 
symbols and outlines of the divine operations they may 
be most useful to us. In the rabbinical and medigeval 
theology this diversity used to be represented by the 
manifold titles of the various principalities and powers. 
Most of these have now dropped out of use ; but there 
are some few which, either from their mention in the 
biblical or the apocryphal books, or from the trans- 
figuring hand of artistic or poetic genius, have sur- 
vived." 



276 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 

The "Window dedicated to Herbert and 
Cowper, which has become one of the con- 
spicuous memorials of Westminster Abbey, 
owes its place there to the strong and abid- 
ing love which this great English prelate had 
for this country, and to Mr. Childs's recog- 
nition of the fraternity of feeling which 
nature has planted deep in the hearts of 
Englishmen and Americans. 

In concluding an appreciative and grace- 
ful tribute to the character of Dean Stanley, 
then lately gone to his reward, the Public 
Ledger, on the 20th of July, 1881, said, — 

" He believed in a national church, but his Angli- 
canism reached across the water, and he was fonder and 
more appreciative of this country than many a citizen 
of the United States. Freedom and reverence, peace 
born of struggle, and faith in justice worth hard knocks, 
the charity that comes of knowledge, not of indifference, 
a prayer ' that we may not be persecutors,' a creed like 
the rainbow, that spanned from the horizon to the zenith, 
— these were the rich gifts of Stanley's mind, and his 
legacy to the world are his twin beliefs in unswerving 
law and all-surrounding love." 

It was out of his love for the people of 
the United States — and of his perception of 
the common bonds that bound and made 
them one with Englishmen — that the Her- 
bert and Cowper Memorial grew. There 



in Westminster Abbey. 277 

was, at the time the request for the "Window 
was made and freely responded to, the same 
thought in the minds of both Dean Stanley 
and Mr. George W. Childs, — the thought 
that, if there were set up in the venerable 
Abbey, the last resting-place of so many 
eminent Englishmen, a memorial to those 
great worthies, Herbert and Cowper, by an 
American citizen, who was indisputably a 
representative of American thought and 
feeling, it would be, so long as time spared 
that ancient edifice, a token of the cordial 
sympathy existing between the two coun- 
tries. 

When in 1867 Sir Charles Wentworth 
Dilke had finished the story of his travels 
through the British Colonies and the United 
States, he could find no title so fit for his 
attractive work as that of " Greater Britain. " 
He saw, during his protracted visit to this 
country, only his own country magnified in 
area, population, wealth, and greatness. He 
found here the same manners and customs 
as those of his own land ; here he also found 
the same language, the same political insti- 
tutions, the same literature, the same art, the 
same science, the same religion. He was 
quick to perceive that they of Old England 
and of New England, of Great Britain and 
24 



278 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 

the United States, were one people in their 
love of virtue, freedom, intelligence, courage, 
and in their vast, far-reaching enterprise. 
The broad ocean separated them ; prejudices, 
growing out of misunderstandings, had some- 
times caused them often to look askance at 
each other, to regard each other with distrust. 
But, despite all prejudices and misunder- 
standings, they were and are as one in all 
that proclaims the identity of the same 
people, though living apart. 

This thought or sentiment, it need not be 
said, is not a new one, but as old, at least, in 
the minds of Englishmen and Americans as 
was the Mayflower on the day there passed 
over her side to Plymouth Rock the Pilgrim 
Fathers. But again, and a thousand times 
again, has it been newly formulated, and 
most eloquently, by that learned and devout 
scholar, F. W. Farrar, D.D., Archdeacon of 
Westminster, in a paper of great inter- 
national interest and attractiveness contribu- 
ted by him to Harper's Magazine of January, 
1888, which bears the title of " The Share 
of America in Westminster Abbey." 

The Venerable Archdeacon, whose fame 
for piety and learning is as great in this 
country as in his own, begins his brilliant 
paper with the words following : 



in Westminster Abbey. 279 

"Westminster Abbey is most frequently entered by 
the great northern door, usually known as Solomon's 
Porch, now in course of a splendid restoration, which 
will soon be completed. I will, however, ask the cour- 
teous American visitor to walk through St. Margaret's 
Church-yard, and round the western facade of the 
Abbey, and to enter by the door under Sir Christopher 
Wren's towers, opposite the memorial raised by West- 
minster scholars to their school-fellows who died in the 
Crimean war. Pass through the western door, and 
pause for a moment 

1 Where bubbles burst, and folly's dancing foam 
Melts if it cross the threshold/ 

Of all the glory of this symbolic architecture, of the 
awe-inspiring grandeur and beauty of this great min- 
ster, which makes us feel at once that 

1 They dreamt not of a perishable home 
Who thus could build/ 

how much may be claimed in part by America? 

" In one sense all of it w r hich belongs to the epoch 
which elapsed between the age of Edward the Con- 
fessor and the disastrous days of Charles I. and Arch- 
bishop Laud. An English writer who lives in America 
has said that ' in signing away his own empire George 
III. did not sign away the empire of English liberty, 
of English law, of English literature, of English blood, 
of English religion, or of the English tongue.' Amer- 
icans enjoy, no less than we, the benefit of the great 
Charter, the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act. 
They need not go back for their history to Indian 
annals or Icelandic sagas. Theirs are the palaces of 



280 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 

the Plantagenets, the cathedrals which enshrine our 
old religion, the illustrious Hall in which the long line 
of our great judges reared by their decisions the fabric 
of our law, the gray colleges in which our intellect and 
science found their earliest home, the graves where our 
heroes and sages and poets sleep. Indeed, I have under- 
stated their share in the Abbey. It reaches down not 
only to the days of the Pilgrim Fathers, but to the 
War of Independence. Chatham and Burke and Barre 
as well as Patrick Henry advocated the American 
cause, which engaged the sympathy of the great mass 
of Englishmen, if not that of Grenville and North." 

The recognition both by Dean Stanley 
and by Mr. Childs of the truth of that which 
Archdeacon Farrar so eloquently said had 
been previously demonstrated by the setting 
up in the ancient Abbey of the Memorial to 
Herbert and Cowper, of which, in the above- 
quoted paper, Archdeacon Farrar says, after 
referring to the monuments to Kingsley and 
Craggs,— 

" There are two other memorials which combine with 
these to give to this spot in the Abbey the name of the 
' Little Poets' Corner.' They are the stained glass 
Windows in memory of George Herbert and William 
Cowper. They belong entirely to America, for they 
are the gift of an American citizen, my honored friend, 
Mr. George William Childs, of Philadelphia. In the 
stained glass are the effigies of the two poets. Both 
of them were Westminster boys, and the most beautiful 
representatives of all that is holy in two very opposite 



in Westminster Abbey. 281 

schools of religious thought. It was a happy inspira- 
tion which suggested the erection of this Window. 
George Herbert and William Cowper were well deserv- 
ing of Memorials in the Abbey, apart from the fact 
that they had so often played in its cloisters and 
worshipped in its choir. The combination of the two 
suggests the higher unity which reconciles all minor 
points of ecclesiastical difference." 

HERBERT. 

Gentle Izaak Walton concluded the re- 
markable sketch of the life of the pious 
scholar and poet, George Herbert, which is 
one of the noblest ornaments of our litera- 
ture, in these words : 

" Thus he lived, and thus he died like a saint, un- 
spotted of the world, full of alms-deeds, full of humil- 
ity, and all the examples of a virtuous life ; which I 
cannot conclude better than with this borrowed ob- 
servation : 

" ' All must to their cold graves ; 
But the religious actions of the just 
Smell sweet in death, and blossom in the dust/ 

" Mr. George Herbert's have done so to this, and 
will doubtless do so to succeeding generations. I have 
but this to say more of him, that if Andrew Melville 
died before him, then George Herbert died without an 
enemy. I wish (if God be so pleased) that I may be 
so happy as to die like him." 

In the estimation of those of wisest censure 
there are none of the old English divines or 



282 The Herbert and Cowpe / r Memorial 

sacred poets whose fame is more deserved, 
or who are more reverenced by those who 
speak the language in which the " holy 
Herbert" gave his writings, in prose and 
verse, to the world. 

COWPER. 

On the long roll of England's distinguished 
men of letters there are few names which 
shine with so strong, steady, and enduring 
a light as that of William Cowper. There 

has been no lessening of his great fame with 

© © 

the passing of time ; it was long ago con- 
ceded that by his poems he had not only 
raised " to himself an imperishable name," 
but that he had added enduring beauty to 
the English language. His is a name which 

© © © 

is not only reverently cherished in the affec- 
tions, but which appeals to the best thought, 
high conscience, and lofty sentiment of all 
men of noble mind. 

"When Mr. Childs undertook the fafil- 
ment of the desire of his friend, the vener- 
able Dean of Westminster, to set up the 
Memorial Window in the Abbey to Her- 
bert and Cowper, the same thought inspired 
them both, — the thought that if the object 
were accomplished by an American it would 
be accepted by every Englishman as a tribute 



in Westminster Abbey. 283 

of brothers to brothers. The works of these 
sacred singers live after them in the love and 
admiration of all English-speaking peoples, 
and nowhere more truly than among the 
people of this broad land. The Window in 
Westminster, though the munificent gift of 
but one of them, represents the common 
reverence for the great poet of all Ameri- 
cans of gentle, pious feeling, as his songs 
were sung for those of all lands of refined 
natures and devout aspirations. 

In Sunday at Home, a magazine of high 
character, published in London (in the num- 
ber for June, 1877), there appeared, as a 
frontispiece, a colored illustration of the 
Herbert and Cowper Memorial Window, 
with reference to which Dean Stanley con- 
tributed the following explanatory note : 

" The southwest corner of the Abbey- — once the 
Abbot's private chapel, then the Baptistery, and now 
the Lay Clerks' vestry — was selected some twenty 
years ago as the place for the erection of the statue 
of the poet Wordsworth, probably in connection with 
the font. Within the last ten years the present Dean 
resolved to make it a second poet's corner — chiefly for 
sacred poets — in order to relieve the great pressure on 
the south transept. 

" When Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, with 
truly American generosity, most generously complied 
with my request that he should give a window of stained 



284 The Herbert and Cowper Memorial 

glass, it was suggested to him that it should be placed 
in this chapel, and commemorate George Herbert and 
William Cowper, — both religious poets, both Westmin- 
ster scholars, — and especially two opposite poles of the 
English Church, — George Herbert, the ' ecclesiastical,' 
and William Cowper, the ' evangelical/ tendency. In 
the Window, Herbert is represented in his clerical vest- 
ure, standing by his church porch, and the lines under- 
neath are taken from the introduction to his poems, and 
(in reference to the Baptistery, or the entrance to the 
Abbey) touch at the start on the Christian life. Cowper, 
on the other side, is in his well-known cap and dressing- 
gown, in the neighborhood of Olney, with his hares 
in the garden, looking at his ' Mother's Picture,' from 
which poem are taken the lines which are also appro- 
priate to the associations of the Baptistery. The her- 
aldic devices above represent their respective families, — 
both, as it happens, great in the English aristocracy." 
The editor of Sunday at Home added to the good 
Dean's note that " it was a happy thought of Dean 
Stanley to associate the names in the Memorial, and 
the gift of the Window was a fitting and graceful trib- 
ute from an American citizen in the Centennial Year 
of Independence." 

In a private letter to Mr. Chilcls written 
by a distinguished man of letters in England, 
and referring to the death of Dean Stanley, 
the writer said, — 

"The good Dean valued your friendship deeply, and 
I have often heard him speak with enthusiasm of your 
affection for England and the Abbey, and the munifi- 
cently splendid way in which you showed it. I have 



in Westminster' Abbey. 285 

no doubt that the recollection by you of the truly kind 
and genial reception which you gave him in Philadel- 
phia will remain with you as one of the brightest inci- 
dents of your life." 

Iii TV\ W. Nevin's entertaining " Vignettes 
of Travel" there occurs this reference to Mr. 
Childs's gift to the Abbey : 

"Passing from the ancient abbot's palace, now the 
dwelling of the Dean, by private entrance to the church, 
just before we entered the transept of the main build- 
ing. Dean Stanley, to whom my presence started recol- 
lections of Philadelphia, said, i Stop a moment ; I want 
to show you something that will remind you of home,' 
and ascending by a side entry three narrow steps, into 
a little chapel shut off by an open railing from public 
entrance, we stood suddenly before the handsome Me- 
morial Window of Mr. Childs to the two English poets, 
— a grand blaze of illumination, covering almost an 
entire wall of the chapel. It is a beautiful and costly 
work of art, in the conventional ecclesiastical style of 
glass-painting, rich and impressive. 

" It is the usage of the Abbey to inscribe on all mon- 
uments the incidents of their erection, but the story 
of this one is very simply and frankly told in a single 
line : l D. D.* Georgius Gulielmus Childs. Civis 
Americanus.' 

"This is the first appearance of our country in the 
historic Abbey. There are a few other American names, 
— some Royal refugees in the War of 1776-83, some 
colonial worthies, some British soldiers killed in the 

* Donurn dedit. 



286 The Herbert and Coivper Memorial. 

Revolution and French Wars ; but this is the only 
description which distinctly places the new nation of 
1 The United States of America' in the monumental 
archives of Westminster." 

Mr. Joel Cook, in his entertaining book 
entitled " A Holiday Tour in Europe," says, 
regarding the gift of Mr. Chilcls, — 

" The Memorial Window erected by Mr. George W. 
Childs is eagerly sought for by Americans visiting 
the Abbey. . . . Mr. Childs' s gift is in two parts, or, 
as it were, two complete windows, one in memory of 
Herbert and the other of Cowper. It is the extreme 
western window on the south side of the nave, and is 
in the Baptistery, somewhat secluded on account of the 
high tombs standing in front of it, and the stone arched 
railing separates the Baptistery from the nave, but pour- 
ing a rich flood of mellow light over them." 



THE MILTON WINDOW. 



The gift by Mr. George W. Childs to St. 
Margaret's Church, Westminster, of the 
Memorial "Window to Milton was made 
subsequently to that of the Fountain, com- 
memorative of Shakespeare, at Stratford- 
upon-Avon, and was inspired bj^ a letter to 
him from his friend Archdeacon Farrar, in 
which was regretfully recited the absence 
of any appropriate memorial in England to 
the great Cromwellian poet, except that 
erected in 1737 by Auditor Benson in West- 
minster Abbey. To this letter its recipient 
at once replied by offering to place in St. 
Margaret's Church, of which the Venerable 
Doctor Farrar is Rector, a window, the de- 
sign of which should be determined wholly 
by the judgment of the latter, Mr. Childs's 
only request to his friend being that he 
should undertake the setting up of a monu- 
ment which should appropriately commem- 
orate the virtues and genius of Milton, whose 

287 



288 The Milton Window. 

works are held in as great esteem, and whose 
memory is as profoundly reverenced in this 
country, as in that of his birth. The sug- 
gestion which came to Mr. Childs was in 
harmony with the sentiment which had in- 
duced the presentation of the Memorial to 
Herbert and Cowper in Westminster Abbey, 
and the Fountain at Stratford-upon-Avon to 
Shakespeare, which were to serve as a sign 
of the appreciation in America of the genius 
of the poets to whom they were dedicated, 
and to give assurance to the world of the 
warmth of the affection and the sincerity of 
the esteem existing in the United States for 
these great masters of English literature, 
who embellished and ennobled our common 
language by their contributions to it. 

" London and Westminster," says old 
Heywood, " are two twin-sister cities, as 
joined by one street, so watered by one 
stream ; the first a breeder of grave magis- 
trates; the second the burial-place of great 
monarchs." St. Margaret's Church is in 
Westminster, standing hard by the stately 
Abbey. The present sacred edifice indicates 
no earlier period of its existence than that 
of the reign of the Plantagenets ; but Mr. 
Mackenzie Walcott says of it : " There is, 
with the exception of the Abbey of St. Peter 



The Milton Window. 289 

and St. Paul's Cathedral, no other ecclesi- 
astical edifice throughout London and West- 
minster which can boast of a greater an- 
tiquity, or more interesting foundation," the 
original structure dating, it is stated, from 
a few years before the Conquest. One story 
of its origin is to the effect that, " Edward, 
the Confessor, finding, as was natural, that 
a population was growing up around the 
Abbey walls, and was continually increased 
further by a miscellaneous crowd of persons, 
who, for good or for bad reasons, sought the 
shelter of the Sanctuary, raised here a church 
in the round-arched Saxon style, and dedi- 
cated it to St. Margaret." 

In the reign of Edward the Eirst the edi- 
fice was almost wholly taken down and re- 
built. There are some notable tombs in St. 
Margaret's Church, among others that to 
William Caxton, " who, as early as the year 
1477, set up a printing-press in the Abbey ; 
there is also a mural tablet set up within 
which, recites that Sir Walter Raleigh's body 
was buried here on the day of his execution 
in Palace Yard*" 

Until very recently the Speaker and the 
House of Commons were wont to attend at 
St. Margaret's Church, upon the days of what 
were known as the " State Services." In 

n t 25 



290 The Milton Window. 

1858 these were, by an order in Council, 
stricken out of the Book of Common Prayer, 
and since then the Speaker has not appeared 
in St. Margaret's in his official wig and 
robes. 

In the year 1656 John Milton was married 
to his second wife, Catherine Woodcock, in 
St. Margaret's Church, and there he subse- 
quently worshipped. 

It may be proper to note here that, as a 
token of the high appreciation of Mr. 
Childs's gift to St. Margaret's, there has 
been set apart in perpetuity in that sacred 
temple a pew for the exclusive use of Amer- 
icans. 

It was in the latter part of 1886 that 
Archdeacon Farrar originally referred to the 
pitiful lack of imposing monuments to the 
poet Milton in England. It was then that 
he wrote the following lines, with which he 
concluded his interesting article entitled 
" The Share of America in Westminster 
Abbey," before referred to in these pages, 
and which were published in Harper's Maga- 
zine more than a year afterwards : 

11 There are, perhaps, fewer memorials of Milton 
than of any Englishman of the same transcendent 
greatness. I am extremely desirous to erect a worthy 
Window in his honor in the Church of St. Margaret's, 



The Milton Window. 291 

close beside the Abbey. Our register contains the 
record of his marriage to Catherine Woodcock, his 
second wife, in 1656, and also records, in the following 
year, her death and that of her infant daughter. It 
was to her that he addressed the noble sonnet which 

begins — 

'Methought I saw my late espoused saint 
Come to me like Alcestis from the grave/ 

Milton's connection with the Church of St. Margaret's 
was therefore very close, and if any of his American 
admirers are willing to assist me in my design, I shall 
on public grounds most heartily welcome their munifi- 
cence. They have already beautified this fine old his- 
toric Church by their splendid gift of a Window in 
honor of Sir Walter Raleigh, whose headless body lies 
under the altar. Milton has even higher claims on 
their gratitude and admiration." 

This, in effect, was the text of the letter 
which was written by the Venerable Arch- 
deacon to Mr. Chilcls in jSTovember, 1886, 
and to which the latter replied by offering 
to contribute such a memorial as his friend 
should deem appropriate. 

The other letters which have come into 
the Editor's possession having reference to 
the Milton Window are the following: the 
first is from Archdeacon Farrar to Mr. Chilcls, 
dated at Dean's Yard, Westminster, London, 
February 4, 1887: 

" My dear Mr. Childs, — I did not write at once to 
express my delight and heartfelt gratitude for your 



292 The Milton Window. 

splendidly munificent offer in compliance with my sug- 
gestion of a Memorial to John Milton, because I wanted 
to give you full particulars. I did not say that Milton 
himself was buried at St. Margaret's, but that he was 
married in the Church, was closely connected with it 
through the Parliament (for it is and always has been 
the Church of the House of Commons), and that his 
dearest wife, the one to whom he wrote the immortal 
sonnet Avhich begins — 

' Methought I saw my late espoused saint' — 

was buried in the Church, as was his child, wholly 
without memorial. The fact is that no man of his 
pure and noble genius is so wholly uncommemorated 
in England. There is a poor bust to him in the Abbey ; 
that is all. For one hundred and fifty years after his 
death the Stuart reaction against Puritanism and the 
adoration of ; King Charles the Martyr' caused Milton's 
name to be execrated. But America is the glorious 
child of Puritanism ; and it is to me a most touching 
and significant fact that a Memorial to Milton in the 
Church of the House of Commons for which he so 
greatly labored should now be given by a descendant 
of the Pilgrim Fathers after I had tried in vain to get 
it from Englishmen. 

"But I could not write till I was able to inform you 
what the cost would be, nor shall I formally accept 
your generous offer until you have been informed of 
the cost and character of the proposed window. The 
central compartments would illustrate scenes in the 
Life of Milton, the side compartments would contain 
scenes from the ' Paradise Lost.' The Window would 
be worthy of Milton, worthy of the church, and worthy 
of your munificence. 

'* I shall not set the artist to work till I receive your 



The Milton Window. 293 

sanction in another letter. If you approve, I will have 
a fine design of the Window executed and sent to you. 
Mr. J. R. Lowell wrote the lines under the Raleigh 
Window in my church, and Lord Tennyson those under 
the Caxton Window. I would get some great poet to 
write the lines under the inscription which would 
record, to all future time, your honor of the illustrious 
dead. 

" I have of course not mentioned the matter publicly, 
nor will I do so till I receive the final notification of 
your gift. 

"Most gratefully and sincerely yours, 

" F. W. Farrar. 

" P.S. — Immediately after writing this letter I went 
to read prayers, and the lesson was the message to the 
Angel of the Church of Philadelphia." 

The following is Mr. Childs's reply to the 
foregoing : 

" Philadelphia, February 16, 1887. 

M My dear Archdeacon Farrar, — Your kino? note is 
just received, and is most satisfactory. I have but one 
thought with regard to the Memorial, which is that I 
am particularly anxious you should write the inscrip- 
tion. All other matters I leave to your taste and good 
judgment, but this one request I hope you will grant 
me. 

" With cordial regards, sincerely your friend, ■ 

" Geo. W. Childs." 

Enclosed in the above letter from Mr. 
Childs was a draft for an amount covering 
the entire cost of the work. 
25* 



294 The Milton Window. 

Writing to his friend from Dean's Yard, 
Westminster, London, on the 5th day of 
March following, Archdeacon Farrar said, — 

" My dear Mr. Childs, — How can I thank you 

warmly enough ? Your order for £ has reached 

me safely, and the Window, which will be a very beau- 
tiful one, will be at once proceeded with. Before long 
I hope to send you a painting of it which will show 
you how very beautiful it is likely to be. I need hardly 
say that, as you wish it, I will myself write the inscrip- 
tion, and, further, I shall record that it is the gift of 
the same noble munificence which has already enriched 
Westminster Abbey and Stratford-upon-Avon. 

" I wish that there were some chance of your seeing 
it ! Of course, it will take some months to finish, and 
may be you will have to come over to England some 
day, before or after the Memorial is set up. 

"You cannot tell how much I am pleased by the 
thought that one of the greatest, purest, and least com- 
memorated of English poets should receive one more 
testimony to the immortal gratitude which is his due, 
and that the Memorial to this mighty Puritan should 
come from the land of the Pilgrim Fathers, and be 
placed in the Church of the House of Commons, with 
which he was so closely connected. 

" Believe me to be, dear Mr. Childs, sincerely and 
gratefully, your friend, 

U F. W. Farrar." 

On the 19th day of the same month Arch- 
deacon Farrar again wrote to Mr. Childs, 
from Dean's Yard, Westminster, regarding 
the Window, as follows : 



The Milton Window. 295 

"My dear Mr. Childs,— I hope, in the course of 
a few weeks, to send you a beautifully painted copy of 
the design for the great Milton "Window which we owe 
to your munificence. When the design is completed, I 
shall publicly announce your gift to the old historic 
church. The enclosed outline will give you a general 
conception of the mode of treatment. In the centre is 
Milton dictating to his daughters the ' Paradise Lost ;' 
underneath is a scene from his student-life, and his visit 
to Galileo. All around are scenes from ' Paradise 
Lost' and ' Paradise Regained.' Above are the re- 
joicing angels, and figures of Adam and of our Lord. 
It will be a very beautiful work of art, and an eternal 
monument to Milton's genius and your generosity. 

" Believe me to be, dear Mr. Childs, sincerely and 
gratefully your friend, 

" F. W. Farrar." 

The gift of Mr. Childs was formally un- 
veiled on the eighteenth day of February, 
1888, an account of which was furnished by 
Archdeacon Farrar himself in the following 
letter to the donor : 

"17 Dean's Yard, Westminster, S. W., 
"February 18, 1888. 

"My dear Mr. Childs, — I have just returned from 
the unveiling of the Milton Window. I only invited 
a select number of friends. Among those present were 
the poets Mr. Robert Browning and Mr. Lewis Morris, 
among others Mr. Lecky, Mr. Courtney Herbert, Mr. 
and the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, the Speaker's family, 
the United States Minister and Mrs. Phelps, Professor 
and Mrs. Flower, Lord Stanley of Alderly, General Sir 



296 The Milton Window. 

Edward Staveley, and other distinguished personages. 
Mr. Matthew Arnold read a very fine paper on Milton, 
which is to be published in the Century, and which 
will, I am sure, please you very much. After the paper 
had been read in the Vestry we went into the Church 
and unveiled the Window. It is very fine in color and 
execution. In the centre is Milton dictating to his 
daughters the l Paradise Lost ;' below is Milton as a boy 
at St. Paul's school, and Milton visiting Galileo. All 
round are scenes from the ' Paradise Lost,' — Satan 
awaking his legion, Satan entering Paradise, the fall, 
and the expulsion from Eden. Above are four scenes 
from the ' Paradise Regained,' — the nativity, the an- 
nunciation, the baptism of Christ, and the temptation 
in the wilderness. At the top are jubilant angels, and 
Adam and our Lord, — the first and the second Adam. 
In the course of next week I hope to send you the 
picture (colored) of the Window. Underneath is the 
inscription : 

'To the glory of God, and in memory of the Immortal Poet, 
John Milton, whose wife and child lie buried here, this Win- 
dow is dedicated by George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, 

MDCCCLXXXVIII. , 

" On the other side are Mr. Whittier's four fine lines. 

" So that now, my dear Mr. Childs, your noble gift 
has come to fruitful completion, and in the Church of 
the House of Commons will be a lasting and beautiful 
Memorial both of the great poet and of your munifi- 
cence. 

" It has carried out a wish which I long cherished. 
Heartfelt thanks ! 

"I shall preach on Milton to-morrow, and I shall 
ask you to accept the MS. of the sermon. Pray give 



The Milton Window. 297 

my kindest remembrances to Mrs. Childs, and believe 
me to be, 

"Yours, very sincerely and gratefully, 

"F. W.Farrar." 

The selection of St. Margaret's Church 
was probably due to the fact mentioned in 
this letter, that Milton's wife and child are 
buried there ; and what more fitting memo- 
rial could there be than this of him who in 
his " 11 Penseroso" wrote of — 

" Storied windows richly dight 
Casting a dim religious light 1 ' ? 

The following recognition of the gift by 
Mr. Childs of the Milton Memorial Window 
is part of the eloquent and learned address 
delivered by the late Matthew Arnold in St. 
Margaret's Church, Westminster, on the 
18th day of February, 1888, on the occasion 
of the unveiling of the Memorial Window, 
being the same which is referred to by Arch- 
deacon Farrar in the foregoing letter to Mr. 
Childs : 

u We have met here to-day to witness the unveiling 
of a gift in Milton's honor, and a gift bestowed by an 
American, Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia, whose cordial 
hospitality so many Englishmen, I myself among the 
number, have experienced in America. It was only 
last autumn that Stratford-upon-Avon celebrated the 



298 The Milton Window. 

reception of a gift from the same generous donor in 
honor of Shakespeare. Shakespeare and Milton, — he 
who wishes to keep his standard of excellence high 
cannot choose two better objects of regard and honor. 
And it is an American who has chosen them, and 
whose beautiful gift in honor of one of them, Milton, 
with Mr. Whittier's simple and true lines inscribed 
upon it, is unveiled to-day. Perhaps this gift in honor 
of Milton, of which I am asked to speak, is, even more 
than the gift in honor of Shakespeare, one to suggest 
edifying reflections to us. 

" Like Mr. Whittier, I treat the gift of Mr. Childs 
as a gift in honor of Milton, although the Window 
given is in memory of the second wife, Catherine 
Woodcock, the ' late espoused saint' of the famous 
sonnet, who died in childbed at the end of the first 
year of her marriage with Milton, and who lies buried 
here with her infant. Milton is buried in Cripplegate, 
but he lived for a good while in this parish of St. 
Margaret's, Westminster, and here he composed part 
of ' Paradise Lost,' and the whole of ' Paradise Re- 
gained' and ' Samson Agonistes.' When death de- 
prived him of the Catherine whom the new Window 
commemorates, Milton had still some eighteen years 
to live, and Cromwell, his ' chief of men,' was yet 
ruling England. 

" The English race overspreads the world, and at 
the same time the ideal of an excellence the most 
high and the most rare abides a possession with it 
forever." 

The full text of this eloquent address was 
published in the Century Magazine for May, 

1888. 



The Milton Window. 299 

This noble tribute to Milton was the last 
work which this learned and graceful scholar 
lived to do. A short time after its delivery 
Mr. Arnold died. The following letter from 
Archdeacon Farrar to Mr. Childs will be 
found interesting in its reference to the final 
literary effort of the great scholar and 
divine : 

" Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall, S. W., 
"May 1, 1888. 

" My dear Mr. Childs, — I felt Mr. Matthew Arnold's 
death deeply. He died on a Sunday, and only the 
Friday before he had been talking to me here at the 
Athenaeum in the very highest spirits. He had alluded 
to the Milton Article (which has since appeared, a post- 
humous work). It will be interesting to you to know 
that it was called forth by your noble gift, and that it 
was the last thing which came from that brilliant intel- 
lect. I took part in his funeral at the quiet little vil- 
lage church of Lateham, where we laid him beside his 
three boys, — two of whom had been my pupils at 
Harrow. 

11 The "Window is beautiful. It will be a permanent 
and historic ornament to the Church, which will now 
have a record of your generosity as well as Westminster 
Abbey, where only yesterday I was reading the plate 
which commemorates your gift of the Cowper and 
Herbert Window. 

" Cordially and sincerely yours, 

" F. W. Farrar." 

The "Window is remarkable for its fulness 
of detail and richness of color. Both in 



300 The Milton Window. 

artistic design and execution it is worthy of 
high praise. It is divided by its stone work 
into four lights with tracery openings, and 
is of fifteenth- century character, known as 
the "perpendicular" style, which is that of 
the church generally. The design of the 
stained glass filling the Window in memory 
of the author of " Paradise Lost" is planned 
on three lines of panels in horizontal order, 
the middle tier being of somewhat larger 
depth than those above and below it. In 
the two divisions of the central portions of 
the whole, four panels — viz., those of the 
central and lower tiers respectively of these 
lights — are devoted to the personal history 
of the poet. In one of the bottom panels 
the boy Milton is shown at St. Paul's school 
among his fellow-schoolmates. In the next 
panel Milton's visit to Galileo is depicted. 
Above these are two of the larger panels 
combined to make one central subject repre- 
senting the poet dictating " Paradise Lost" 
to his daughters. Around these panels are 
eight others illustrative of "Paradise Lost" 
and " Paradise Kegained." 

In reference to the former are represented 
the incidents of: 1. Satan's summons to his 
legions. 2. Adam and Eve at prayer in 
Paradise, Satan looking on. 3. The temp- 



The Milton Window. 301 

tation. 4. The expulsion. In the upper 
tier the four panels are devoted to the illus- 
tration respectively of : 1. The annunciation. 
2. The nativity of our Lord. 3. The bap- 
tism of our Lord. 4. The defeat of Satan 
in his temptations of our Lord. In the 
tracery openings are jubilant angels and at 
the apex of the whole figures of Adam on 
the left and our Lord on the right, repre- 
senting thus the first and second Adam re- 
spectively. At the base of the window is 
the following inscription : 

" To the Glory of God : and in memory of the im- 
mortal poet, John Milton: whose wife and child lie 
buried here : this window is dedicated by George W. 
Childs, of Philadelphia, mdccclxxxyiii." 

Occupying a corresponding space and 
position in the Window is the following 
fine verse thereon emblazoned, which was 
especially written for the Memorial by the 
American Quaker poet, John Greenleaf 
"Whittier, as a tribute to his brother poet of 
Ions: ago : 

" The New World honors him whose lofty plea 

For England's freedom made her own more sure, 
Whose song, immortal as its theme, shall be 

Their common freehold while both worlds endure." 
26 



302 The Milton Window. 

Regarding these lines Mr. "Whittier wrote 
to Mr. Childs : 

" My dear Friend, — I am glad to comply with thy 
request and that of our friend Archdeacon Farrar. I 
hope the lines may be satisfactory. It is difficult to 
put all that could be said of Milton in four lines. How 
very beautiful and noble thy benefactions are ! Every 
one is a testimony of peace and good-will. 

" I am, with high respect and esteem, thy aged 
friend, 

11 John G. Whittier. 

" I think even such a scholar as Dr. Farrar will not 
object to my use of the word l freehold.' Milton him- 
self uses it in the same way in his prose writings, viz. : 

" ' I too have my chapter and freehold of rejoicing.' " 

The religious services were the ordinary 
Lenten ones, except that the hymn pre- 
ceding: the sermon was Milton's — 



© 



"Let us with a gladsome mind 
Praise the Lord, for he is kind." 

Canon Farrar, who preached from La- 
mentations iv. 7, further emphasized the 
occasion in his opening remarks. As the 
discourse proceeded and the congregation 
warmed in sympathy with the impassioned 
but well-weighed eloquence of the preacher, 
the gloomy weather without cleared, and 



The Milton Window. 303 

the wintry sun gleamed through the richly- 
stained windows with which St. Margaret's 
is generally adorned and glinted on the Mil- 
ton Memorial, relieving the semi-obscurity 
of the interior and illuming the impressive 
scene in which the worshippers mingled 
with devotion to the Almighty the full meed 
of admiration of Milton's inspired genius 
which the preacher's fervency demanded. 

On the Sunday following the unveiling of 
the memorial to the poet, Archdeacon Farrar, 
in order to give greater impressiveness to the 
event, preached a special sermon in St. Mar- 
garet's. The day was bitterly cold, the wind 
blowing sharply from the northeast, and the 
snow falling intermittently during the morn- 
ing ; but, undeterred by the churlish weather, 
a vast multitude, including many of the most 
distinguished religious, social, political, and 
literary leaders of England, met to listen 
to the eloquent words of the venerable 
Archdeacon. The pews were all filled, and 
chairs were placed in the aisles to accom- 
modate the great concourse assembled to 
testify by their presence their interest in 
the impressive ceremony. Among those 
who were in attendance were Mr. Phelps, 
the American Minister, and his wife ; Mat- 
thew T Arnold; the poet, Robert Browning; 



304 The Milton Window. 

the Baroness Burdett-Coutts ; the Rev. 
Phillips Brooks, of Boston; and many 
prominent American residents of London, 
as well as distinguished representatives of 
the nobility. 

In the occasional sermon preached by Dr. 
Farrar, he said, — 

" It has been my desire during twelve years to sur- 
round this ancient and famous church with noble asso- 
ciations ; to revive the memories of those great men with 
which it has been connected, and thus to indicate the 
relation in which it stands to the history of England. 

" This church may claim its special interest in the 
mighty name of Milton. That name is recorded in our 
marriage register; and here lies buried, with Milton's 
infant daughter, that beloved wife — ' my late espoused 
saint' — whose love flung one brief gleam of happiness 
over the poet's troubled later years. Once more we are 
indebted to an American citizen for the beautiful Mil- 
ton Window which was yesterday unveiled. The well- 
counselled munificence of Mr. Childs, of Philadelphia, 
who has already enriched Stratford-upon-Avon with 
a memorial of Shakespeare, and Westminster Abbey 
with the Window in memory of "Herbert and Cowper, 
has now erected this abiding memorial to the great 
Puritan Poet. Myself the debtor to American friends 
for great kindness, I cannot but rejoice that the Church 
of St. Margaret's should furnish yet one more illustra- 
tion of those bonds of common traditions and blood 
and language and affection which unite England to 
the great Republic of the West; and I am glad that 
the public spirit of the church-wardens has assigned 
from henceforth the use of one special pew in this 



The Milton Window. 305 

church to our friends and visitors from the other side 
of the Atlantic. 

" There was something specially appropriate in the 
Milton Window being the gift of an American. For 
the United States represent much that Milton most 
deeply loved; the Commonwealth which, happily fail- 
ing in England, in America gloriously succeeded; the 
Puritanism which, crushed in England, inspired vigor 
and nobleness into our kin beyond the sea. 

" The venerable poet, Mr. Whittier, who has written 
the lines for yonder window, most justly says, — 

" ' The New World honors him whose lofty plea 

For England's freedom made her own more sure, 
Whose song, immortal as its theme, shall be 

Their common freehold while both worlds endure/ " 

The sermon was subsequently published 
in full in The Churchman, of New York, with 
the accompanying note : 

" St. Margaret's, Westminster, 
" February 19, 1888. 
" This manuscript of a sermon preached at St. Mar- 
garet's, Westminster, — the Church of the House of 
Commons, — on the occasion of the unveiling of the 
Window" in memory of Milton, presented to the church 
by George W. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, is pre- 
sented to Mr. Childs, with grateful regard, by 

" Frederick W. Farrar, 
" Archdeacon of Westminster." 

The subjoined editorial reference to the 
Window was printed in the same number 
of The Churchman: 

u 26* 



306 The Milton Window. 

" Under the shadow almost of the northern transept 
of "Westminster Abbey and within a stone's throw of 
Westminster Hall and the Houses of Parliament stands 
a church which is probably known to every American 
who has visited London, — the Church of St. Margaret's. 
Interesting as it is because of its monuments and its 
being the Church of the House of Commons, it has 
just now gained an added attraction in the Memorial 
Window to Milton, which has been placed there by the 
munificence of Mr. George W. Childs, of Philadelphia." 

AMERICAN COMMENT. 

The leading newspapers of the United 
States very generally published interesting 
accounts by cable of the dedicatory cere- 
monies, with appropriate comments there- 
upon. From the mass of such accounts or 
comments which were collected by the Edi- 
tor he has selected the following only, from 
the Brooklyn Eagle of February 19, 1888, as 
suggestive of the character of them all : 

u Yesterday the ceremony of unveiling the Milton 
Memorial Window presented to St. Margaret's Church, 
Westminster, by George W. Childs, Esq., of Philadel- 
phia, attracted one of the largest congregations ever 
gathered within the walls of the venerable edifice. 
Archdeacon Farrar preached the sermon, postponing 
his usual Lenten exhortation and confining his remarks 
to the lessons of Christianity as exemplified by the 
noble life of the great English poet and moralist. The 
brief extracts communicated by cable indicate that the 



The Milton Window. 307 

effort was worthy of the speaker and the occasion. He 
confessed the satisfaction it gave him that the Church 
of St. Margaret's should furnish another illustration 
of those bonds of common blood, traditions, language, 
and affection which unite the mother-country with her 
marvellous offspring, the giant Republic of the West, 
and alluded to the peculiar fitness of the honor done 
by an American to the memory of one who represented 
much that was most deeply loved in the Commonwealth, 
which, failing in England, inspired vigor and nobleness 
in the Commonwealth to which it gave birth beyond 
the sea. 

" Need it be said that the countrymen of Mr. Childs 
participate with him in the reciprocation of the feeling 
which inspired these utterances of Archdeacon Farrar ? 
The motive that prompted the Philadelphia philanthro- 
pist is a motive which challenges the approval and 
sympathy of every enlightened American. There is, 
in his gift of the Milton Window, a teaching larger 
than that of any sect, class, or faction. It has even a 
nobler significance than that to which the archdeacon 
adverted. It means more than a recognition of the ties 
that unite the two leading nations of the Anglo-Saxon 
race. It is an expression of the veneration which fills 
every elevated mind for one of the most extraordinary 
examples in the history of genius and virtue. In con- 
ceiving this honor to the memory of Milton, Mr. Childs 
revealed not only the benevolence of his nature, but 
his appreciation of the truly great and good. Like his 
Shakespeare Memorial and the beautiful Windows in 
the ancient Abbey that recall the genius of Herbert 
and Cowper, it bespeaks the lofty ideals not less than 
the kindly impulses of the donor. 

" Of the author of ' Paradise Lost,' it has been said 
that he is withdrawn from the ordinary world as an 



308 The Hilton Window. 

Alp is withdrawn, — by vastness, by solitariness of 
snows, and by commerce with heaven. Mr. Childs has 
shown that the ordinary world may venture to invade 
this isolation and to mitigate the grandeur of the poet's 
solitude by the proofs that his genius cannot thus 
divorce him from the great heart of humanity. If the 
sublimity of his intellect and the austerity of his morals 
lift him far above his kind, the pathos of his life and 
those passages in which he confesses his heritage of 
weakness and sorrow, make him our brother and equal. 
Wisely has Mr. Childs chosen this last object of his 
generosity and munificence. Fittingly have the Eng- 
lish people, speaking by the tongue of Archdeacon 
Farrar, accepted the offering as at once a tribute to the 
mighty dead and as a pledge of the fraternity of the 
race that boasts his ashes as a consecrated legacy." 



THE REREDOS OF ST. THOMAS'S CHURCH, 
WINCHESTER. 



Among the gifts which Mr. Childs has 
made to England is that of the Reredos 
which is now one of the most striking 
adornments of St. Thomas's Church, "Win- 
chester. 

The inception of this gift is to be found 
in a letter written October 11, 1887, to Mr. 
Childs by his friend, the Reverend Arthur 
B. Sole, Rector of St. Thomas's Church. 

Referring to the Herbert and Cowper 
Memorial in Westminster Abbey, and to 
the Shakespeare Fountain at Stratford, Mr. 
Sole said, — 

" Now that you have shown the midland counties and 
the metropolis an American citizen's appreciation of 
England's great poets, you must not leave out in the 
cold the ancient city of the country, Winchester, the 
one centre to which every American is attracted. 

" Could you not give us a monument or memorial to 
Bishop Ken, who lived close under the shadow of St. 

309 



310 The Reredos of St. Thomas's Church. 

Thomas's old Church ? We sorely need a new Reredos, 
and, coming from a well-known citizen of that Greater 
Britain beyond the sea, the gift would be highly esteemed 
by Englishmen. " 

With this request Mr. Childs complied 
with characteristic generosity. 

On December 6, 1887, the Rev. Mr. Sole 
wrote to his friend : 

" We feel very grateful* to you for your ready com- 
pliance with my request, and for choosing our Church 
as the recipient of your gift which shall show respect 
and veneration for the good Bishop Ken. The church 
is a very noble one, and the largest in Winchester, so 
that it is fitting his monument shall be in it. 

" It has been suggested that you might like to have 
good Bishop Andrewes's name connected with Bishop 
Ken's in the work, since he was very often with us in 
Winchester, and the Church of the seventeenth century 
owes much to him." 

A year later, December 28, 1888, the Rev. 
Mr. Sole communicated with Mr. Childs, 
saying — 

" The following resolution was passed at a special 
and influential Vestry that was called last week to dis- 
cuss the Reredos : 

" ' Parish of St. Thomas and St. Clement, 
Winchester. 
" ' At a Vestry meeting held according to due notice 
on Thursday, the 20th day of December, 1888, to con- 



The Reredos of St. Thomas 9 s Church. 311 

sider the subject of the gift of a Reredos to the Church 
by an American citizen, and to record a vote of thanks 
to the donor, — 

" ' Proposed by Captain Budden, and seconded by 
Mr. Alfred King, that this meeting of the Rector, 
Church-wardens, and parishioners in Vestry assembled, 
do hereby offer to George William Childs, Esquire, of 
Philadelphia, U.S.A., their most cordial thanks for his 
very handsome gift towards the beautifying of their 
parish Church, and to which they would beg to add the 
hope that, should Mr. Childs ever visit England, they 
may have the pleasure of seeing him in Winchester, 
and thanking him in person for the kindly interest he 
has shown in this ancient city and parish of the old 
mother-country. 

" '' Alfred King, 

"'J. A. Morraii (Colonel), 

" ' Church- Wardens. 
" ' Arthur D. Sole, Rector? " 



On February 15, 1889, the Rector of St. 
loma 

morial ; 



Thomas's again wrote regarding the ^le 



" The Reredos is growing rapidly, and will be un- 
veiled at 4.30 on Friday afternoon, March 1, by the Very 
Reverend the Dean of Worcester. 

"He is a most eloquent preacher, and I have no 
doubt will say some helpful words concerning the cir- 
cumstances under which the erection is made, and your 
very sympathetic kindness and good-will toward the old 
city of your fathers. 

" The inscription I have not yet prepared. I have 



312 The Reredos of St Thomas's Church. 

waited to take counsel with the Bishop. I should like 
it to take such a form as this : 

" ' To the glory of God, this Reredos has been erected by 
George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, U.S.A., and to record the 
undying esteem that is shared by the Church of the New World, 
reciprocally with the ancient city of Winchester, in the saintly 
lives of two of her sons and citizens, Bishop Andrewes and 
Bishop Ken.' 

" The Reredos was unveiled last Friday before a large 
concourse of worshippers. It looked very beautiful, 
and was spoken of by many as a munificent gift of love 
from you." 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEDICATION. 

Under the caption of " The New Reredos 
at St. Thomas's, "Winchester/' the Hampshire 
Gazette, in its issue of March 2, 1889, of that 
ancient metropolis said, — 

" An interesting and historical Reredos has been 
placed in the Church of Sts. Thomas and Clement, 
Winchester, under unusually pleasing circumstances, 
connecting Old and New England. A friend of the 
Rector's (the Rev. A. B. Sole), Mr. Childs, of Phila- 
delphia, presented him with a check to defray the 
cost of a Reredos to commemorate Bishops Lancelot 
Andrewes and Ken, prelates certainly of saintly re- 
nown, whose names and fame are revered wherever 
Englishmen are, for both were stanch Churchmen ; 
both have left writings which are yet prized as manuals 
of devotion and aids to religion ; and both have an his- 
toric interest, for Andrewes administered the Diocese 
of Canterbury whilst the Primate from an accident to 



The Reredos of St Thomas's Church. 313 

his keeper was held to be incapacitated, and Ken was 
one of the l Seven Bishops.' Both are to be remem- 
bered for their learning, and Ken especially to be 
honored for his firmness of purpose against William 
III. (when Prince of Orange), Charles II., and James, 
when he considered morality and honor were jeopard- 
ized. The Keredos is a very handsome work, although 
it includes the arcade of the former one, which consisted 
of panels with the Commandments, etc. These are 
now removed to another place close by, and the span- 
drils of the arches have been carved with conventional 
foliage and fruit, and an angel in the north and south 
spandrils. Above this arcade is another of five panels, 
forming, with its cornice and cross, a pediment or finish 
to the Reredos. The cross, with the Agnus Dei painted 
in colors, surmounts the whole, and the hand-mould- 
ings and other ornaments of the shafts of the panels 
are in the best style of work. In the panels are fixed 
as many paintings by ladies of Winchester. In the 
centre is Christ ascending and blessing ; on either side 
are angels with the chalice and ' golden crown ;' and 
on the outer panels are, on the south, Saints Thomas, 
the apostle, and Clement, the third Bishop of Rome, 
martyred in the time of Trajan, each with emblems, — 
the spear and the anchor ; in the north are representa- 
tions of Andrewes standing with his pastoral staff, and 
Ken kneeling, both vested in Reformation robes, and 
with mitres at their feet. The pastoral staff indicates 
that Andrewes died in office, whereas Ken, from scru- 
ples of conscience, died out of office, being a non-juror. 
Close to this panel is another in the wall over the 
credence-table, which bears, under a cross-surmounted 
globe delineating England and America, the following 
words, — l Stat Crux dum evolvit orbis,' followed by this 

inscription : 

o 27 



314 The Reredos of St T/iomas's Church. 

" ' In token of the unity of spirit and bond of peace between 
the Churches of the Old and New World, this Reredos is dedi- 
cated by George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, to the memory of 
two Bishops of the Church universal, both connected with this 
Cathedral city — Bishop Lancelot Andrewes and Bishop Ken. — 

MDCCCLXXXIX. , 

' ; The Reredos was unveiled yesterday (St. David's 
Day), at Choral Evensong. There was a numerous 
congregation. The service opened with the Old Hun- 
dredth Psalm. The anthem was ' How amiable are 
Thy tabernacles,' and it was well sung by the choir. 
The hymn before the sermon was ' "We love the place, 
God.' The preacher was the Very Rev. Dr. Gott, 
Dean of Worcester, who chose for his text the words 
' From strength to strength,' from the seventh verse of 
the Eighty-fourth Psalm. In the course of an eloquent 
sermon he said they were met together that afternoon 
to worship God, not only in spirit but in truth, and to 
give a blessing in God's name to the new addition to the 
altar which graced their church, and indicated their 
devotion. Concluding, he asked what was the strength 
added to their Church since the days of Ken? He did 
not think he could put it in words, — he could not hold 
the world in his hands, he could not express the mighty 
strength which had come over the Church of God from 
those days till now ! How wide the Church had spread, 
how fertile had been her daughter Churches within 
the last century, how rich she was in founding new 
branches of the old Church, how strong in infusing the 
spirit of the one true religion — the religion of Christ 
— into the old religions of the East! How wonderful 
had been the strength of the Church in the country of 
the donor who sent the offering to the city whence these 
two saintly men came! Were they personally going 



The Hcredos of St. Thomas's Church. 315 

from strength to strength ? As years passed over them, 
and as the troubles — perhaps the pleasures — of life 
thickened around them, were they going from strength 
to strength? Let the faith be handed on pure and 
untarnished to their children, and their children's 
children, until at last they appeared before Him who 
was their Almighty strength, and more than conquer- 
ors received from Him the power which Eternity would 
bring. The hymn 'Lift the strain of high thanks- 
giving' was sung during the offertory." 

The Story of Mr. Childs's Memorials to 
some of the noblest of Old England's wor- 
thies, which is here brought to an end, has 
grown under the hands of the Editor, despite 
his efforts to keep it within more modest 
limits. But lousr as it is, he indulges, at 
least, the hope that it will be found inter- 
esting to those who agree with him that it is 
permitted to no one to do better work in 
this world than that of fostering fraternal 
feeling between peoples who are akin, but 
who are separated by the broad ocean, and 
who have been sometimes estranged by mis- 
understandings, conflicting interests, or un- 
toward circumstances. This is the work 
which Mr. Childs appears to the Editor to 
have had a mind to do in the making of 
every one of those gifts to our cousins across 
the sea with whom Americans can claim 
even a closer degree of consanguinity than 



316 The Reredos of St Thomas's Church. 

that of cousinship, — their just claim is that 
of Common Brotherhood. 

The sacred poets, Herbert and Cowper; 
Milton, the sublime singer of the Cromwell- 
ian epoch ; and Shakespeare, whose genius 
illuminates the present not less effulgently 
than it glorified the age of Elizabeth, spoke 
in no strange tongue, but in our very own, 
— in that of our mother-country. In these 
great masters of the English language, in 
their work and their fame, Americans have 
also their full share and part, and whoso 
giveth recognition to that which they did 
and reverence to their memories in noble, 
impressive monuments does that which 
strengthens the feeling of fraternity which 
nature itself demands should exist between 
the two countries. This, as it seems to the 
Editor, is what Mr. Childs has done, and 
for doing which he deserves the sincerest 
respect and the warmest gratitude of Eng- 
land and America. 



MR. CHILDS 



WORKINQMAN 



BY 



RICHARD T. ELY, Ph.D., 



ASSOCIATE IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, JOHNS HOFKINS 
UNIVERSITY, EALTIMORE. 




27* 



317 



GEORGE W. CHILDS 

IX HIS 

RELATIONS TO HIS EMPLOYEES. 



It is with sincere pleasure that I accept 
the invitation which has been extended to 
me by Mr. Phillips, the editor, to contribute 
a few pages to the present volume on the 
relations of Mr. Chilcls to his employees. I 
shall do something more than this, because 
in treating these relations I almost of ne- 
cessity touch upon his relations to the labor 
movement in general. It was, in fact, while 
writing my work on " The Labor Movement 
in America" that I first came to know the 
affectionate nature of the relations existing 
between Mr. Childs and his employees. 

It occurs frequently that an industrial 
leader makes himself an object of love and 
admiration to his own employees, although 
even this does not happen so often as one 

319 



320 George W. Childs in his 

could desire. Mr. Childs has, however, done 
far more than this. He has made himself 
beloved by an entire craft — namely, that to 
which the most of those employed upon his 
great newspaper, the Public Ledger, belong, 
the compositors — throughout the United 
States. The reader may travel south to 
Texas, north to Minnesota, east to Maine, 
or west to the shores of the Pacific, and 
wherever he mentions the name of Mr. 
Childs he touches a warm spot in the heart 
of the compositor. I was studying the labor 
question in Richmond, Virginia, a few years 
ago, when I happened to mention the name 
of Mr. Childs to the president of the local 
organization of compositors. " Oh, sir/ 3 said 
he, as his face brightened with loving grati- 
tude, " if all employers were like Mr. George 
"W. Childs there would be no labor ques- 
tion." Similar expressions are often heard 
at gatherings of printers everywhere. 

The following words are taken from an 
address delivered on the occasion of a ban- 
quet, by one of the employees in the Ledger 
office, and will bring to the reader some idea 
of their appreciation of the character of 
their benefactor: " My recollection of the 
gentleman who is being honored by this 
banquet elates back to boyhood. To use a 



Relations to his Employees. 321 

quoted expression, Mr, Childs is ' an Israelite 
without guile.' The thing in him that is 
plainest to me is that there is less of evil in 
him than in any man I ever knew. No 
one can say that he went to him with a tale 
of true sorrow and went away empty-handed. 
lie overlooks our shortcomings in the Ledger 
office, and many of us have done that which 
might be cause for dismissal from other 
establishments. But we are all there, still 
at work, because he could not frame his 
lips to say the word that would cause our 
departure." 

At this banquet a letter was read from 
a Boston printer, in which these words 
occur : " To George W. Childs, more than 
to any other man living, are we indebted for 
the present era of good feeling existing be- 
tween employers and members of our craft, 
which has taken the place of the antagonistic 
spirit of former years." 

And it was but a few days since that I 
received a letter from a Washington com- 
positor, in which Mr. Childs was alluded to 
as " the Patron Saint of the printers." 

Here we have testimonies from Boston, 
Philadelphia, Washington, and Richmond, 
and they might without trouble be gathered 
from every quarter. Is not this remarkable ? 



322 George W. Childs in his 

The newspapers are full of bitter quarrels 
between employers and employed, and here 
is a man who has established such wholly 
satisfactory relations between himself and 
his employees that an entire craft look upon 
him with enthusiastic admiration, and re- 
gard him as an ideal character. Surely it is 
worth while to reflect for a few moments on 
these relations; surely it is worth while that 
the facts should be published to the world, 
as an incitement to others to " go and do 
likewise." 

Mr. Childs is called a philanthropist, and 
no man can have a nobler title. One who 
is a lover of his kind partakes in so far of 
the divine nature. God is love, and Christ, 
who came to manifest to us the love of God, 
said that the second of the two great com- 
mandments, which bids us to love our fel- 
lows, was of the same nature as the first, 
which bids us to love God. Moreover, when 
men professed to love God, Christ and the 
apostles always put their professions to the 
proof in testing this love for their fellow- 
men. No one can be a Christian without at 
the same time being a philanthropist. 

While all this is true, the word philan- 
thropist does not always convey to us such 
impressions of exalted goodness as it should. 



Relations to his Employees. 323 

One reason is, doubtless, that we are not 
sufficiently Christian ourselves to appreciate 
philanthropy at its value; and another is that 
there is in this world much more spurious 
than genuine philanthropy. Mere giving is 
not philanthropy. A man may give millions 
of dollars in alms, and yet be a contemptible 
fellow. St. Paul tells us, indeed, that a man 
may give his body to be burned, but that 
without love this is nothing. Philanthropy 
is first of all a state of the heart, — a loving 
heart, — and, when it is giving, it is loving 
giving directed by intelligence : all of the 
giver's powers are placed at the service of 
his fellows. 

But this is not all. Love is not weakness. 
Love is gentle firmness and at times is even 
severity. Charles Kingsley, indeed, has said 
that there is no severity so terrible as the 
severity of love. 

George Eliot is celebrated for her insight 
into character, and in one of her letters I 
find these words : " I prefer a country where 
I don't make bad blood by having to see one 
public house to every six dwellings, — which 
is literally the case in many spots around us. 
My gall rises at the rich brewers in Parlia- 
ment and out of it, who plant these poison- 
shops for their million-making trade, while 



324 George W. Childs in his 

probably their families are figuring some- 
where as refined philanthropists or devout 
Evangelicals and Ritualists." 

We must £0 back of the giving; and know 
something about methods of acquisition be- 
fore we can pass judgment on the giver. 
Thieves, pirates, gamblers, have often been 
generous, as is well known, but no one would 
think of calling them on that account phi- 
lanthropists. It is quite as improper to call 
a generous railroad- wrecker a philanthropist, 
or any one who, even in conformity with 
legal forms, coaxes other people's money 
into his pockets without a fair equivalent. 

The recipients of Mr. Childs's bounty may 
enjoy it without any feelings of compunction, 
as they well know that his fortune has been 
honestly gained in a legitimate business con- 
ducted according to high principles. It is 
a source of proper satisfaction to Mr. Childs 
to be able to say of the Public Ledger, " This 
property was built up without breaking 
other people down." 

When Mr. Childs acquired the Public 
Ledger in 1864, he made a distinction in 
the management of his business which too 
many overlook, although it is fundamental. 
"Meanness," said he, " is not necessary to 
success in business, but economy is." 



Relations to his Employees. 325 

As early as 1867 Mr. Childs had acquired 
a reputation as " a just and liberal employer, 
and a kind-hearted, charitable man," and 
had been made an honorary member of u the 
Philadelphia Typographical Society." This 
society was in the following year the recipi- 
ent of a large and valuable tract of ground 
in Woodlands Cemetery, near Philadelphia, 
which was beautifully enclosed and orna- 
mented, and which has since been known 
as " The Printers 5 Cemetery." The ex- 
penses connected with its maintenance have 
been met by the donor for over twenty years. 

The good deeds of Mr. Childs, which are 
unknown to any one but himself, are so 
numerous that they could not be described 
in a brief sketch. I have in mind only those 
which are known ; but there is every reason 
to believe that a larger proportion of them 
never become known, although affection 
prompts many to let the world know what 
he has quietly and unostentatiously done for 
them. The individual cases of distress re- 
lieved by him are simply innumerable, and 
among those relieved are naturally many 
present or past employees : but now we are 
concerned chiefly with his regular relations 
with his employees. One form which his 
beneficence takes is to place insurance on 

28 



326 George W. Childs in his 

their lives, which in case of death will pro- 
vide for those who are dependent on them. 
Another form of Mr. Childs's philanthropy 
is seen in his pension system which places 
all those who have served him long and 
faithfully beyond want in their old age. I 
wish to call particular attention to this, be- 
cause I believe there is perhaps no single 
measure likely to add so much to human 
happiness as a judicious pension system, 
well developed and placed on a secure finan- 
cial basis. I believe, too, that it is practi- 
cable to develop such a system both for 
public and private employees. It has never 
been clear why a pension system should be 
confined to the army, because if it is good 
for the army it is also good, as other coun- 
tries have found out, for the civil servants 
of city, state, and nation. The abuses which 
have been connected with pensions are no 
argument against this position, because the 
abuses are accidental rather than essential 
parts of the system. It should be under- 
stood that the pensiou s} 7 stem which obtains 
in Mr. Childs's 'office is a regular part of the 
remuneration received by all employees, and 
not simply a gift to the poor and needy. 
Mr. Childs sees no reason why a man who 
has been prudent, thrifty, and fortunate 



Relations to his Employees, 327 

should be deprived of his pension; and it is 
said that recently a pensioner of the Public 
Ledger was worth a quarter of a million 
dollars. 

The proper aim of life has often been de- 
scribed to be the full and harmonious devel- 
opment of all our faculties; but it has been 
too often tacitly, if not explicitly, assumed, 
that this full and harmonious development 
is for the few only, and not for the many. 
This is not, however, the belief of Mr. Childs. 
He furnishes the most cheerful, wholesome, 
often luxurious rooms for the entire working 
force of the Ledger, and in the printers' 
apartment he has not even forgotten to use 
those colors on the walls which are least 
trying to their heavily-taxed eyes. Vaca- 
tions interrupt regularly the hard work of 
the Ledger employees, and with the vacation 
there comes a present of means for a trip, 
sometimes even across the continent or to 
Europe. On each Christmas-eve every em- 
ployee receives a present in money, the total 
amount being many thousands of dollars 
annually. This is what Mr. Childs modestly 
calls profit-sharing. It is, in truth, however, 
the noblest form of genuine philanthropy. 

There are three events in the relations 
of Mr. Childs to his employees which are 



328 George W. Childs in his 

peculiarly pleasing. The first concerns the 
rate paid for type-setting. This rate is for 
Union offices fixed by the "International 
Typographical Union/' and most employers 
think they are doing well if they pay with- 
out murmuring all that is asked. Not so 
Mr. Childs. In 1876 a delegation of his 
employees came to him with the announce- 
ment that they were willing to have their 
wages reduced from forty-five cents a thou- 
sand ems to forty cents, which had become 
the Union rate. Mr. Childs, however, re- 
plied that he saw no reason why he should 
reduce their wages. He received the same 
price as formerly for his advertisements, the 
Public Ledger sold for the same price ; in 
short, his business was prosperous, and he 
saw no good reason why his employees 
should not share in his prosperity. He was 
satisfied if they did. The result has been 
that for over thirteen years Mr. Childs has 
been paying his printers in the aggregate 
over ten thousand dollars a year more than 
the Union rate required, or more than he 
need have paid. This, too, is an expression 
of his philanthropy disguised by him as 
profit-sharing. 

The second noteworthy event to which I 
have referred occurred ten years later, in 



Relations to his Employees. 329 

1886. It was during the annual meeting of 
the International Typographical Union, and 
consisted in the presentation of. a check for 
ten thousand dollars to that body, one-half 
given by Mr. Childs and the other half by 
his life-long friend, the well-known banker, 
Mr. Anthony J. Drexel. The gift was made 
without conditions of any sort, and its final 
use has not yet, I believe, been precisely de- 
termined. It was, however, gratefully ac- 
cepted, and it was decided to employ it for 
the construction of some kind of a perma- 
nent memorial, probably a building in Phil- 
adelphia to serve as the headquarters of the 
organization. It was at once resolved to in- 
crease the fund by a beautiful arrangement. 
It was voted that the printers east of the Mis- 
sissippi should set a thousand ems for the fund 
on each of Mr. Childs's recurring birthdays, 
May 12, and that those west of the Missis- 
sippi should set a thousand ems for the fund 
on every September 13, which is Mr. DrexePs 
birthday. Accordingly, every- time these an- 
niversaries occur the printers send to the 
trustees of the Childs-Drexel fund whatever 
is received for setting a thousand ems, and 
thus it grows at the rate of several thousand 
dollars a year, and now amounts to twenty- 
five thousand dollars. 

28* 



330 George W. Childs in his 

It is seen from this that Mr. Childs is not 
hostile to labor organizations; indeed, he 
openly says that he favors them, and he be- 
lieves that had no organization existed among 
the printers their rate of remuneration would 
hardly be one-half what it is at present. 
Mr. Childs holds to the doctrines of equal 
rights for all classes, and cannot understand 
why employees have not as much right to 
organize as their employers. A man who 
is able to take so broad and generous a 
view of much-maligned labor organizations 
deserves the highest commendation. 

There is scarcely room for more than one 
opinion about labor organizations on the 
part of intelligent and impartial men who 
have investigated their claims, and that is 
favorable to them. This does not mean that 
they are free from faults. "What human or- 
ganization is free from faults ? Has the his- 
tory of that organization which we call the 
Christian Church been such that her mem- 
bers can contemplate it with unmingled sat- 
isfaction ? By no means. Yet it is safe to 
say that that organization is a good thing, 
and that the world is to-clay a thousand times 
happier and better than it would be had the 
Christian Church never existed. 

Labor organizations doubtless have their 



Relations to his Employees. 331 

faults, although most of the objections 
brought against them are slanders. The 
true course would then seem to be to con- 
tend only against their bad features, and 
to give them, as a whole, encouragement. 
This is the policy which Mr. Childs has 
pursued, and it is safe to say that the In- 
ternational Typographical Union is on his 
account to-day animated with a far more 
conservative, conciliatory spirit than would 
otherwise be the case. 

Labor organizations are not merely eco- 
nomic organizations in a narrow sense. They 
are that, and, well conducted, can within 
certain limits raise wages or keep wages 
from falling. They enable labor to make 
the best of the existing situation, and this 
can be as clearly proved, perhaps, as any- 
thing in political economy. But labor or- 
ganizations are generally active temperance 
organizations, many of their members being 
total abstainers and prohibitionists. Fur- 
thermore, they are educational societies, 
training their members in speaking, writing, 
and discussion, out of all of which proceeds a 
better understanding of the questions of the 
day. They are, finally, social organizations, 
where the social side of the nature of their 
members is cultivated, and in the crowded 



332 George W. Childs in his 

modern city this is of special importance. 
All this makes it plain how good a deed is 
done by any one who helps to develop the 
best features of labor organizations. 

The experience of Professor Thorold 
Rogers, of the University of Oxford, is so 
typical that it is worth while to quote it 
here. I may say in this place that it is quite 
similar to my experience, although I presume 
I do not expect so much from the organiza- 
tion of labor alone as does Professor Rogers. 
" These institutions,' 5 says Professor Rogers, 
" were repressed with passionate violence 
and malignant watchfulness as long as it was 
possible to do so. When it was necessary 
to relax the severities of the older laws, they 
were still persecuted by legal chicanery, 
whenever oppression could on any pretence 
be justified. As they were slowly emanci- 
pated, they have constantly been the object 
of alarmist calumnies and sinister predic- 
tions. I do not speak of the language of 
newspapers and reviews. . . . Far graver 
were the allegations of Senior and Thorn- 
ton. . . . Even my friend Mr. Mill treated 
these forces of industrial life with a strange 
indifference. I confess to having at one 
time viewed them suspiciously; but a long 
study of the history of labor has convinced 



Relations to Ids Employees. 333 

me that they are not only the best friends 
of workmen, but the best agency for the 
employer and the public, and that to the 
extension of these associations political econ- 
omists and statesmen must look for the solu- 
tion of some among the most pressing and 
the most difficult problems of our time." 

Another illustration will show how far 
Mr. Childs carries his friendly interest in 
whatever concerns his employees. A few 
years ago there appeared in Philadelphia a 
new labor paper. It was stated that Mr. 
Childs had presented every workingman in 
his establishment with a year's subscription. 
What a contrast this is to the conduct of 
those employers who are willing to discharge 
men for reading labor papers ! 

The third event to which I alluded was 
the attempt to bring forward Mr. Childs as 
a candidate for the Presidency. His name, 
it is said, was first mentioned for this posi- 
tion by the "Washington weekly, The Crafts- 
man, long the official organ of the Inter- 
national Typographical Union. The pro- 
posal was greeted with enthusiasm in many 
quarters, and in its issue of February 25, 
1888, The Craftsman voiced the sentiment of 
many printers when it said, " George W. 
Childs before the people ! It is too good to 



334 George W. Childs in his 

be true." Yet many tried to make it true, 
and it was not merely in labor quarters that 
the proposal was favorably received. The 
more people turned the idea over in their 
minds, the stronger did it become, and vol- 
untary offers of influential support began to 
pour in from every side. Democrats, Re- 
publicans, capitalists, and wage-earners were 
eager to unite in the Presidential campaign 
with Mr. Childs as leader. The proprie- 
tor of a Democratic newspaper in the East 
/ pledged the support of his influential journal, 
and offered himself to subscribe one hundred 
thousand dollars for campaign expenses. A 
proprietor of a leading Democratic journal of 
the "West made a similar pledge, with an offer 
of a personal subscription of fifty thousand 
dollars. Proprietors of leading Republican 
newspapers likewise promised to rally around 
Mr. Childs as Presidential candidate. Mr. 
Childs, however, never could see his way 
clear to an acceptance of all this unsought 
and enthusiastically-pledged support, and, in 
spite of all entreaties, positively declined to 
allow his name to be used, going so far as to 
say that he would feel compelled to refuse 
the office even if he should be elected to it. 
This declination was doubtless a bitter dis- 
appointment to many printers who had 



Relations to his Employees. 335 

hoped to see their true friend occupying the 
highest office in the gift of the people. Yet 
they acquiesced in his decision, and their 
admiration and affection suffered no abate- 
ment. 

Those printers and pressmen who have rep- 
resented Philadelphia at the annual meetings 
of the International Typographical Union 
have formed an organization called " The 
Association of Ex-Delegates of Philadelphia 
Typographical Union No. 2 and of Press- 
men's Union No. 4 to the International Ty- 
pographical Union," and they determined 
in 1888 to hold a grand celebration on May 
12 in honor of Mr. Childs's birthday. A 
banquet was provided at which many 
speeches were made eulogizing Mr. Childs, 
and from one of them I have already quoted. 
Several visitors from Washington, including 
Congressmen who had once been composi- 
tors, attended this memorable banquet. It 
was proposed that they should each set up a 
thousand ems and donate the proceeds to the 
Childs-Drexel fund, but at the close of the 
banquet it was too late. The intention was 
mentioned by Congressman James O'Don- 
nell, of Michigan, and naturally it was vo- 
ciferously applauded. As a matter of fact, 
Mr. O'Donnell, and his printer colleagues, 



336 George W. Childs in his 

eight in all, after their return to "Washington, 
did on May 19 set up a thousand ems each, 
and contribute the amount received to the 
fund mentioned. 

Remembering the hostile feelings existing 
so often between large employers and labor 
organizations, it is well to make extracts from 
two of the letters of leading officers of the 
International Typographical Union which 
were read on that occasion. The following 
is from the letter of Wm. Aimison, the 
President of that body : 

" I regret my inability to be present, owing to the 
nearness of the meeting of the International Typo- 
graphical Union and the rush of business incident 
thereto. There is no one to-day within the jurisdic- 
tion of the I. T. U. whom the printers of the country 
would delight to honor more than Mr. Childs. May 
his birthdays be continued, and when the warm heart 
and charitable hand are stilled in death, may his mem- 
ory be as a refreshing draught to strengthen and to 
re-encourage us in the battle of life." 

The following extract is from the letter of 
David P. Boyer, the chief organizer : 

" I hereby send my regrets at not being able to at- 
tend. No other labor organization in this or any other 
country has ever received such consideration at the 
hands of any one man as did the International Typo- 
graphical Union in June, 1886, from George W. Childs, 



Relations to his Employees. 337 

whose name is revered and honored throughout the 
entire jurisdiction of the grand body. . . . Long life 
and happiness to the friends of Union printers, George 
W. Childs and Anthony J. Drexel." 

It ought to be mentioned in this connec- 
tion that in the local headquarters of the 
printers of Washington and several other 
cities a handsome portrait of Mr. Childs 
adorns the walls and is regarded as one of 
their most cherished possessions. 

I think I can in no way more fitly con- 
clude this paper on Mr. Childs's Relations 
to his Employees than by quoting the ad- 
ditional testimony given by Harper's Weekly 
of January 11, 1890, in the following just 
tribute to that generous consideration which 
Mr. Childs shows in so practical a manner 
for all those in his employ : 

" It was long ago said of Mr. George W. Childs, the 
publisher of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, that he 
was the two ' Cheery ble Brothers' rolled into one ; but 
probably a more appropriate name for him would be 
the Santa Claus of the newspaper world. On this last 
Christmas day Mr. Childs, it is said, gave presents 
amounting to many thousands of dollars in hard cash 
to the editors, reporters, compositors, pressmen, and 
other employees of the Ledger. When it is considered 
that the salaries and wages paid by Mr. Childs are as 
large as the largest paid by other Philadelphia publish- 
ers, it will be recognized that any one associated with 
v w 29 



338 George W. Childs in his 

him in his work has cause to be satisfied with his em- 
ployer. It is said by his employees, however, that they 
have even greater cause for satisfaction with him be- 
cause of his daily consideration for them than for his 
Christmas bounty. It is represented to be pretty much 
of the same admirable sort as that of Mr. Fezziwig for 
his employees, which was so warmly described by 
Scrooge. ' He has the power,' said old Jacob Marley's 
partner, * to render us happy or unhappy ; to make our 
service light or burdensome, a pleasure or a toil. Say 
that his power lies in words and looks, in things so 
slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and 
count 'em up; what then? The happiness he gives is 
quite as great as if it cost a fortune.' That is said to 
describe with wondrous accuracy Mr. Childs's relations 
with his employees, who say he is a man who honors 
Christmas in his heart, and keeps it always." 

The Philadelphia Record prefaced the 
above, in republishing it, with the caption, 
"True — Every Word of it;" to which the 
New York Sun, in its republication, added, 
" And Hundreds of Men in all Parts of the 
Country will Confirm it." 

All that I have written reads more like a 
fairy story than a description of real life, 
and it is refreshing to a political economist 
who is so continually concerned with clash- 
ing social interests, occasionally to find a 
great industrial establishment where such 
peace and harmony prevail as to make it 
seem like a veritable happy family. 



Relations to his Employees. 339 

We often hear the expression that the 
interests of labor and capital are harmoni- 
ous ; that they are allies, not enemies : but, 
curiously enough, the practical conclusion 
which seems to be drawn from this is that 
labor should always submit to the commands 
of capital, although it is not clear why it is 
not just as logical to expect capital always 
to accede to the demands of labor if their 
interests are identical. I have never been 
able to reconcile this beautiful sentiment 
with the hard facts of life. At the same 
time, I think that any one who will study 
the experience of Mr. Childs and other em- 
ployers who might be mentioned, — some of 
them, indeed, in the same line of business, — 
will be convinced that, if the interests of 
employers and employed are not always pre- 
cisely identical, there is, at any rate, not that 
diversity of interests which might be inferred 
from the too frequent conduct of both parties. 
A more conciliatory spirit on both sides 
would certainly be mutually advantageous. 

Philanthropy is of two sorts, — positive 
and preventive. Positive philanthropy tries 
to mitigate or remedy evils. It builds hos- 
pitals for the sick and relieves paupers. This 
is all very well in its way, but there is a 
far higher kind of philanthropy, though it 



340 Relations to Employees. 

attracts less attention. It is preventive. It 
looks ahead and takes measures to lessen the 
need of almshouses and hospitals. The 
philanthropy of a model employer is of this 
latter sort. He pays good wages and de- 
serves to rank higher than a capitalist who 
cuts wages and who contributes largely to 
ordinary charitable institutions. He helps 
men to help themselves, and lifts them to a 
higher plane of thought and life. 

Richard T. Ely. 

January, 1890. 



CELEBRATION 

OF THE 

BIRTHDAY OF GEORGE W. CHILDS. 



The following account of the Banquet of 
" The Association of Ex-Delegates of Phil- 
adelphia Typographical Union, No. 2, and 
of Pressmen's Union, No. 4, to the Inter- 
national Typographical Union/' May 12, 
1888, is taken from the Printers' Circular, 
Philadelphia. 

May 12, 1888, will long be remembered by the 
printers of Philadelphia and vicinity for the celebra- 
tion by them of the birthday of their steadfast friend 
and distinguished fellow-citizen, George W. Childs, 
publisher of the Public Ledger. 

The Association of Ex-Delegates of Philadelphia 
Typographical Union, No. 2. and of Pressmen's Union, 
No. 4, to the International Typographical Union, hav- 
ing resolved that some fitting celebration of the day 
should be held, it was decided that -a Testimonial Ban- 
quet should be given at Dooner's Hotel, to which should 
29* 341 



342 Celebration of the 

be invited the eight printers who were members of the 
United States House of Representatives, together with 
many distinguished members of the printing and pub- 
lishing fraternities throughout the country. 

When in 1886 Messrs. Childs and Drexel sent their 
respective checks for five thousand dollars to the Con- 
vention of the International Typographial Union, then 
in session at Pittsburgh, provision was made that the in- 
dividual members should have the opportunity to assist 
in augmenting the fund until such time as it was seen 
fit to make disposition of it. It was then arranged that 
the printers east of the Mississippi should, for this pur- 
pose, contribute the price paid for setting one thousand 
ems on Mr. Childs' s birthday, May 12, of each year, and 
that those west of the Mississippi should do likewise on 
the annual recurrence of Mr. Drexel's birthday, Septem- 
ber 13. Following out this plan of mutual assistance, the 
printers west of the Mississippi have made two annual 
contributions to the fund, and on Saturday, May 12, 
the second contributions of printers this side of the 
great river were made. Excluding these last contri- 
butions, of which but meagre returns have yet been 
received, the fund has already increased to over sixteen 
thousand dollars. 

The earnest efforts of the Ex-Delegates to appropri- 
ately observe* Mr. Childs's natal day, and the sponta- 
neous and hearty responses of distinguished men who 
had graduated from the printing-office, resulted in a 
celebration as memorable as it was successful and 
enjoyable to all who participated in it. 

The handsome dining-hall was decorated with the 
national colors, and behind the President's chair was 
placed a magnificent painting of the Public Ledger 
building, in a massive frame, on one side of which 
hung a life-size portrait of Mr. Childs, and on the other 



BiHhday of George W. Childs. 343 

a corresponding portrait of Mr. Drexel, elegantly framed 
and decorated. Over these were the stars and stripes, 
and below a bank of flowers, the gift of the employees 
of the "Ledger Job office." To the left of Mr. Childs's 
portrait was displayed the silken banner of Typograph- 
ical Union, No. 2, of Philadelphia, and to the right of 
Mr. Drexel's portrait hung the beautiful banner of 
Pressmen's Union, No. 4, of this city. 

On the table and about the banquet-hall flowers and 
flowering plants were profusely distributed, producing, 
with the other elaborate and tasteful decorations, a most 
pleasing and graceful effect. In front of each plate was 
placed a menu card, noticeable for its typographical 
beauty, and, in addition, before the plate of each Con- 
gressional guest was a remembrance from Mr. Childs 
in the shape of a fragrant bouquet. Besides these, 
numerous bouquets and plateaus were sent as birthday 
gifts to Mr. Childs, with the compliments of warm per- 
sonal friends and invited guests who could not be pres- 
ent, among whom was William M. Singerly, Esq., pro- 
prietor and editor of the Philadelphia Record, who sent 
as a token of his friendship and esteem a floral gift of 
great natural beauty and elegance of design. During 
the evening, and between the speeches, music was dis- 
coursed by^Simon Hassler's orchestra. 

THE BANQUET. 

At half-past seven o'clock Mr. John A. Dardis, Presi- 
dent of the Ex-Delegates' Association, called the com- 
pany to order, and the one hundred members and guests 
were seated. Mr. Dardis said, — 

Gentlemen, — As President of the Ex-Delegates' As- 
sociation of Philadelphia, it becomes my pleasant duty 
to welcome you, and to ask your hearty co-operation 



344 Celebration of the 

in this effort fittingly to celebrate the birthday of our 
distinguished fellow-citizen and benefactor, George W. 
Childs, publisher of the Public Ledger. 

While the printers east of the Mississippi are cele- 
brating the day by each setting a thousand ems of type 
as a contribution to the Childs-Drexel fund, it seemed 
to us that the printers of Philadelphia should, in addi- 
tion to their contribution, publicly bear testimony to 
their appreciation of Mr. Childs' s noble, unselfish, and 
long-continued generosity to the entire printing fra- 
ternity. 

Hence this Testimonial Banquet in his honor, to 
which you are cordially invited ; and, with your assist- 
ance, we hope to make it one of the. most memorable 
events in the history of the art preservative. 

I now take great pleasure in introducing to you 
Mr. James J. Dailey, Chairman of the Committee of 
Arrangements. 

Mr. Dailey, upon being introduced, briefly ac- 
knowledged the applause with which he was greeted, 
and introduced the Rev. John R. Moses, Rector of St. 
Jude's Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, who 
invoked the Divine blessing. 

The announcement was made that letters and tele- 
grams, expressing their regret, because of their ina- 
bility to be present, had been received from Hon. Simon 
Cameron, who is probably the oldest printer in the 
United States ; Hon. John Russell Young, late U. S. 
Minister to China; Hon. John H. Oberly, ex-President 
of the International Typographical Union and Civil- 
Service Commissioner, and the following printers or 
ex-printers : 

Congressman J. H. Gallinger, of Concord, N. H. 

Congressman Thos. L. Thompson, of California. 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 345 

Harper & Bros., Publishers, New York. 

E. M. Paxson, Chief Justice Supreme Court of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Hon. A. K. McClure, Editor Philadelphia Times. 

Thomas MacKellar, of MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan, 
type-founders, Philadelphia. 

Win. Aimison, President International Typograph- 
ical Union. 

David P. Boyer, Chief Organizer of the I. T. U. 

Ex-President Witter, of St. Louis, Mo. 

John O'Donnell, of Boston, ex-Secretary-Treasurer 
I. T. U. 

Wm. Bodwell, New York Sun, ex-President I. T. U. 

Dr. Egle, State Librarian of Pennsylvania. 

R. P. Boss, of the Boston Globe. 

John Vincent, of the Boston Globe. 

After the more material part of the banquet had been 
discussed by the members and guests, the feast of rea- 
son and flow of sentiment and wit were begun by 
Chairman and Toastmaster Dailey announcing the 
first regular toast, " The International Typographical 
Union," and introducing Congressman John M. Far- 
quhar, the ;; War President of the International Typo- 
graphical Union," to respond to it. 

CONGRESSMAN FARQUHARS SPEECH. 

Mr. Farquhar, of Buffalo, New York, arose, amid an 
outburst of applause, and after paying a compliment to 
Typographical Union, No. 2, of Philadelphia, for its 
steadfastness and reliability, said that his feeling of 
gratification was divided between meeting and congrat- 
ulating Mr. Childs and meeting and congratulating his 
old comrades of the composing-room. He said, — 



346 Celebration of the 

Thirty- seven years ago there was cradled in the city 
of New York an organization which, by its wise con- 
stitution and sensible deliberations upon matters of 
interest to the printers' fraternity, placed itself in the 
van of labor organizations and made itself first — the 
leader — the exponent of every individual man's right 
to the full value of the labor of his hands, as well as 
his brain. 

He referred to the International Typographical 
Union, the high honor of which he vindicated, and to 
the great satisfaction he entertained, personally, in the 
recollection of the early days of the Union. Strange 
as it may seem, this was the first time that the toast, 
" The International Typographical Union," had been 
assigned to him, and on such an occasion he was proud 
to refer to it, and to the way he had won his spurs, 
"stick" in hand, at the journeyman's case. He then 
said, — ■ 

It is germane that I should say a word, as a journey- 
man printer, about the gentleman whose birthday we 
celebrate. I never knew one act of a public or private 
citizen of this country that struck me with more mean- 
ing in it than the present of Messrs. Childs and Drexel 
of five thousand dollars each to this organization. It 
was not a restricted donation, but a present — a free 
and absolute gift. No association has ever before been 
placed in the position of receiving a gift without some 
hesitancy, whether it was intended as a tribute to merit 
or not. But from these men it came and was accepted 
as an acknowledgment of merit, urging us to step 
higher. It was a gift unconditional, and with it went 
the message of encouragement: ''We acknowledge 
your work, and here we show, by our hands and our 
hearts, that you are an organization we love." 

Mr. Farquhar proceeded to eulogize Mr. Childs and 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 347 

Mr. Drexel, growing very earnest in his praises of their 
generous act, which he regarded as of great significance 
to workingmen. Raising his voice, he exclaimed, 
'• Every Union printer in America will say, ; God bless 

George W. Childs and Anthony J. Drexel ' ? ' The 

remainder of the sentence was drowned in applause, 
for at that moment Mr. Childs, to the surprise of every- 
body in the banquet-hall, made his appearance. Mr. 
Farquhar took his seat, Messrs. Chairman Dailey and 
Joel Cook welcomed Mr. Childs, and the orchestra 
played Hasslers waltz, "Wootton." The effect was 
strikingly dramatic, and Mr. Farquhar was congratu- 
lated on the appropriateness of his closing remarks. 

As soon as the applause subsided, Mr. Dailey intro- 
duced Mr. Childs as the first citizen of Philadelphia, 
and, " in the hearts of the printers, the first citizen of 
America." Mr. Childs bowed his acknowledgments. 
On behalf of Mr. Joseph Pulitzer, proprietor and editor 
of the New York World, Mr. Dailey then presented 
Mr. Childs with a magnificent bouquet. This token 
of good feeling on the part of the distinguished New 
York publisher was also warmly recognized. Mr. 
Childs remained for about half an hour, and was then 
escorted around the table to enable him to shake hands 
with the men who had met to do him honor, and to 
receive their congratulations. This pleasant duty being 
over, he retired. 

The next toast, 

" THE DAY WE CELEBRATE," 

was responded to by Mr. Eugene H. Munday (the well- 
known printer-poet and prose writer of Philadelphia), 
who said, — 

Mr. President and Gentlemen, — I have not felt at 



348 Celebration of the 

liberty to decline the invitation to respond to this toast, 
though most sincerely do I wish that the honorable 
duty had been assigned to some one better qualified to 
treat the theme as it deserves. I have not felt free to 
decline the invitation, because it comes from the valued 
friends of my whole life ; and if it shall appear that 
kind regard for me has caused the committee to err in 
choosing a spokesman for this occasion, I hope that you 
will all emulate that spirit of kindness and excuse the 
shortcomings that may be too obvious in what I shall 
say. 

On the twelfth day of May, 1829, George W. Childs 
was born in the city of Baltimore, and this body of 
printers assembles here to-night to celebrate that event. 
A small body of men we are, of no special importance 
in the great world, or even within the limits of our 
own city ; and shallow ill-nature might carp at our 
action as savoring of presumptuous forwardness. But 
there is, I venture to assert, eminent propriety in such 
a meeting of just such men for just this purpose. 

This modest Association, having no object but social 
intercourse and the cultivation of friendly relations, 
is composed of men who at different times have been 
selected to represent the journeymen printers of Phila- 
delphia in National and International Conventions. 
We cannot be sure that they at all times adequately 
represented their constituents ; but who can doubt that 
they will represent the feelings, not only of the printers 
of this city, but of the workingmen of the whole 
country, if they shall in any measure acceptably com- 
nremorate the birth of a man who — untainted by dem- 
agogism — is preeminent as the intelligent and powerful 
friend of all legitimate efforts to assert and maintain 
the rights of organized labor ; who, in his use of wealth, 
and in the conduct of his business, daily typifies the 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 349 

highest functions of capital 5 and who stands ever ready 
personally and in the columns of his influential journal 
— by generous acts and cheering words — to forward 
every well-considered movement that promises to benefit 
the toiling masses. And if our little celebration seems 
to be not worthy of the occasion, we at least mark out 
the course that larger and more influential bodies may 
follow in coming years. 

There is, I say, an eminent fitness in the inaugura- 
tion of such celebrations by a body of practical printers. 
Far-reaching as has been the beneficence of Mr. Childs, 
it has been most direct, most constant — closest — to the 
craft of which we are members, and which hails him 
as chief among its honored chiefs. And the striking 
fact must be noticed that the regard and honor that 
wait on him are borne alike by the most prominent and 
the most obscure of all classes in the printing frater- 
nity. Successful publishers and struggling beginners ; 
authors whose fame is part of their country's, and 
those who languish unrecognized ; editors of command- 
ing influence, and unknown hack-writers ; master 
mechanics who conceive, construct, put into motion, 
and control the vast machinery now necessary to the 
life of a great daily newspaper, and the veriest tyro 
that blunders in the shop ; the patient, alert proof- 
reader, and the careless, sleepy copy-holder ; the skil- 
ful, self-respecting compositor, and the poor fellow 
who borrows a quarter on the curb, — all these varieties 
and grades of men unite in respect, bordering on ven- 
eration, for the proprietor of the Public Ledger. He 
has achieved the triumph of commanding the admira- 
tion of all, while exciting the jealousy of none. 

Nor is this respect confined to the circle that feels 

most directly the action of his impulses and the force 

of his character. 

30 



350 Celebration of the 

Throughout our broad laud — yea, and far across the 
seas — there is felt for George W. Childs a degree of 
active and warm personal regard which has never be- 
fore, I believe, been accorded to a private citizen, and 
which waits only for his consent (wisely withheld) to 
take him from the private station and clothe him with 
the highest honor that a free people can bestow. 

Abreast of Mr. Childs in public esteem — so closely 
identified with him in good works that it is difficult to 
think or speak of them apart — stands the great Amer- 
ican banker, Anthony J. Drexel. Great, I say, not 
because of his wealth and his commanding position, 
but because of the wise and liberal use that he makes 
of the rich fruits of his industry and business acumen 5 
great not merely in the power that he wields, but in 
the goodness that directs that power ; great in the fine 
qualities of his brain, greatest in the generous impulses 
of his heart. Happy if all possessors of great wealth 
and power had the wisdom and grace to follow the lead 
of Drexel and Childs. Then might the clouds that 
overhang and threaten our social fabric be dispelled ; 
then might we hope for the realization of the dream 
of the poets of all ages; then might we look for the 
crowning fruition of Christ's precepts, and hail the 
establishment of the brotherhood of man. 

Many admirable sketches of Mr. Childs's career have 
been written, notably that by James Parton ; that by 
Col. John W. Forney ; and that by J. W. Huff, which 
appeared in the Printers' Circular, and which has the 
grace of thorough and genial appreciation. But it 
must be said that they are all unsatisfying, and mainly, 
I fancy, to their authors. I have experimented in that 
direction myself. Certainly they fail to develop the 
occult philosophy which Hamlet longed for, and which 
alone might fully explain a truly unique character. 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 351 

This is not strange when we know that a man so emi- 
nent, so conscientious, and with so careful a habit of* 
mind as the late Professor Joseph Henry, of the Smith- 
sonian Institution at Washington, deliberately wrote, 
" Mr. Childs is a wonderful man. . . . Like man in the 
classification of animals, he forms a genus in himself. 
He stands alone ; there is not another in the wide 
world like him." And Hon. John Russell Young, in 
a late number of the Star, gives prominence to a 
quality that is often overlooked in estimating the 
make-up of this distinguished man. He says, " Far 
and away above any man with whose career I am at 
all familiar, I place Mr. Childs as the best business 
man in American journalism." 

These, bear in mind, are the well-considered opinions 
of men who knew the weight of words. 

Thus let me close. This is not the time to attempt 
anything like an analysis of the elements that go to 
make up the singularly beautiful and interesting char- 
acter of " the best-loved man of our land ;" nor should 
I, at any time, assume a task that much abler men 
have but imperfectly performed. 

My purpose is fairly accomplished if, without weary- 
ing you, I have given good reasons why we — printers 
— should thus meet and honor " The Day We Cele- 
brate." It is the one that, fifty-nine years ago, noted 
the advent into this life of a rare spirit, which, in its full 
and gracious development, commands the unstinted ad- 
miration of the brightest and worthiest men of our time. 

After the applause with which Mr. Munday's cordial, 
graceful effort was greeted had subsided, 

CONGRESSMAN THOMAS R. HUDD, 

of Wisconsin, responded to the toast " Our Guests." 
After humorously alluding to his personal experience, 



352 Celebration of the 

Mr. Hudd turned his attention to " the celebration of the 
natal day of that gentleman known, respected and ven- 
erated in tlie West, that honored Philadelphian, George 
W. Childs." Touching upon the presentation of the 
Stratford-upon-Avon drinking-fountain in memory of 
Shakespeare, Mr. Hudd said that the West also re- 
vered that man, and "took no stock in Donnelly, who 
forced Bacon in what he wrote.' ' He then lauded Mr. 
Childs for his beneficence and unselfishness. " Taken 
all in all, 1 ' he said, " we may never see his like again." 
Mr. Hudd then drew a beautiful picture of the purity 
of Mr. Childs' s character as likened to the spotless 
flowers in the bouquet before him, and closed with the 
following quotation as applicable to the honored guest 
of the evening : 

" You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will. 
But the scent of the roses will hang round it still." 

GENERAL NEILSON ? S SPEECH. 

To the toast " Philadelphia Typographical Union" 
Gen. Wm. H. Neilson, President of No. 2, responded. 

He said that he had been astounded, in the course 
of his interviews with employing printers, at the igno- 
rance many of them displayed regarding the rules and 
regulations of the Union. He dwelt upon the value 
of the Union, which recognizes the futility of strikes, 
as a medium for placing employees upon an equality 
and in a position where they may be able to protect 
themselves against the unscrupulous. He touched upon 
the principles underlying the organization, and the effi- 
cacy of the ballot to redress the grievances of working- 
men, and said, — 

At the same time, the workingmen have been de- 
ceived by concentrating their support upon candidates 



Birthday of George IF. Childs. 353 

for Congress who have forgotten their promises and 
turned in with corporations and monopolies. Phila- 
delphia is the only city that has ever produced a man 
that did seem properly to recognize what the working- 
man was worth and to what he was entitled. When 
the Typographical Union reduced the price of compo- 
sition from forty-five to forty cents per thousand ems, 
Mr. Childs refused to accept the reduction. He said 
that he was making money enough to pay the old rate, 
and he continued to pay it, and has done so until this 
day. I would to God there more of such men in this 
country ; then the workingmen would say, " We are 
perfectly satisfied : we are perfectly contented." 

SPEECH OF CONGRESSMAN CUMMINGS. 

" The Printer as a Journalist" was responded to in 
an inimitable way by Hon. Amos J. Cummings, of 
New York, late managing editor New York Sun, who 
was frequently interrupted by applause. He said, — 

Mr. Chairman and Brothers of the Typograph- 
ical Union, — It is with sincere pleasure that I join 
you in honoring the birthday of George W. Childs. 
You honor yourselves in honoring Mr. Childs. I honor 
him for the substantial testimonial of his esteem for 
Union printers ; I honor him for his manifold public 
charities; but I honor him most for his love for his 
fellow-men. He is the only man whom I have ever 
known, or of whom I have ever heard, who has gone 
clear through the Golden Rule in his love for mankind, 
and landed on the other side. He is not only good, but 
great — and all the greater because he is good. 

I find that I am to respond to the toast of " The 
Printer as a Journalist." I have carefully studied the 
art of speech-making in Congress. The first requisite, 
x 30* 



354 Celebration of the 

as exemplified by our brother, Congressman Hudd, of 
Wisconsin, this evening, seems to be a plentiful supply 
of poetry. The only poem applicable to this occasion 
is that beautiful effusion of Clarence Cook, written more 
than fifty years ago, entitled " Abram and Zimri." A 
second requisite for Congressional speeches appears to 
be a pile of Congressional Records as a foundation on 
which to place a written speech. The Records, alas, 
are not here, and I must perforce enter upon my duty 
without them. 

The type-setter and proof-reader become editors un- 
consciously. The evolution from the case into editorial 
life is as natural as the evolution of a butterfly from a 
chrysalis. There is nothing marvellous about it. The 
true typo will develop into the true editor, if time and 
opportunity serve. No careless or incompetent printer 
ever became a competent editor. No plodding black- 
smith can ever become a skilled machinist. I have 
seen many men taken from the case and thrown into an 
editorial room, and all but one became successful and 
accomplished reporters, editors, and correspondents. 

The one exception was thus delineated by the tongue 
of an old journeyman : k ' I don't wonder that he failed 
as an editor, for he had -the dirtiest proofs of any man 
in the office/' 

The qualities that make a man an efficient compositor 
are the very qualities requisite to make him an influ- 
ential editor. 

Who ever knew of a country printing-office that was 
not haunted by some quaint urchin eager to learn the 
mysteries of the case ? 

Sometimes he is awkward and uncouth. Oftentimes 
he is barefooted. Frequently his hands are so dirty 
that they look like toads' backs. Occasionally he has a 
freckled face and a red head. Again he develops a 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 355 

peculiar reticence that betokens restlessness and am- 
bition. 

Whether retiring and reserved, or whether talkative 
and full of life, the printing-office has a peculiar charm 
for him. 

You will find him picking type from the sweepings 
of the office while on his way to school. You will see 
him forcing an imprint from the type upon the blank 
pages of his school-books. The country editor is. in 
his eyes, a greater man than the rural parson. The 
boy has a longing look as he gazes at the office. It is 
indicative of the one desire of his heart. — that of pre- 
siding over the hell-box and reaching the mighty and 
exalted post of printer's devil. Horace Greeley walked 
twelve miles through the snow to Poultney to secure 
such a place. Such boys are the germs of editorial 
life. Watered by the dews of opportunity, and warmed 
by the sun of prosperity, they eventually rule on the 
editorial tripod. 

Let us see how they are developed. The true printer's 
devil is something more than an imp. In the fermen- 
tation of his nature he presents many curious contrasts. 
His deviltry may throw the whole town into hysterics, 
but it quickly passes from a physical to an intellectual 
stage. He mounts a candle-box and learns the alpha- 
bet at the case. The calibre of the boy is quickly seen. 
The types have opened a new world to him. They 
attract him by night and by day. His " stent' is 
hardly done before he is at work for himself. Fugitive 
sketches and local sarcasms are printed on slips and 
circulated by his eager hands. He drinks in the com- 
ments of his acquaintances on the emanations of his 
brain, and is spurred to renewed efforts. 

There are probably few compositors within the sound 
of my voice who cannot recall some such experience. 



356 Celebration of the 

The boy sets the town agog anew by his intellectual 
efforts. Gradually he becomes a journeyman. He 
learns the art of punctuation and the use of capital 
letters and italics. He unconsciously develops a liter- 
ary taste, and becomes a critic. The rules of composi- 
tion set themselves in his mind without effort. The 
marks of the proof-reader annoy him, and many a 
wordy dispute follows, but always inuring to the 
mental benefit of the typo. 

The news of the day is ever before his eyes. He 
gets it in scraps known as " takes,'' and these scraps 
incite a thirst for information that is only satiated by 
a careful perusal of the daily newspapers. Standard 
works flow into the editor's sanctum, and magazines 
and exchanges. Some of them fall under the eyes of 
the apprentice. He may devote a few of his nights to 
dissipation, but there will be much burning of mid- 
night oil. Dickens, Bulwer, Thackeray, Marryat, 
Cooper, Scott, Hawthorne, and even Ned Buntline 
may be digested. Macaulay, Rollin, Gibbon, Bancroft, 
and Motley may be read. The life of Napoleon and 
Lamartine's descriptions of scenes in the Reign of 
Terror will ever fascinate such young compositors. 
The poems of Tom Moore, Walter Scott, Robert Burns, 
Byron, Shakespeare, and other great bards will pass 
through his mental hopper. The aphorisms of Ben 
Franklin will radiate in his atmosphere. While at 
work distributing type and correcting proofs, he will 
find himself unwittingly discussing the news of the 
day and entering into political controversies. If he 
has any originality in the field of thought, it is sure to 
be developed and strengthened day by day, hour by 
hour, minute by minute. He is ever working in the 
domain of intellectuality, and is ever drawing inspira- 
tion from the fertility of his surroundings. 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 357 

When a journeyman printer, his mind is broadened 
anew. He deserts the home newspaper and wanders 
from city to city. If true to his craft, he seeks admis- 
sion to a Typographical Union, and in course of time 
gains a sure knowledge of the labor problem. He 
verifies by travel what he has read. His knowledge is 
no longer theoretical, but practical. He becomes self- 
reliant and politic in his dealings. He gains a knowl- 
edge of the country surpassed only by his knowledge 
of human nature. At times he suffers penury and bitter 
disappointments ; but anon fortune gleams anew on his 
pathway, and, strengthened by his adversity, he again 
lopes over the trail of life with all the freshness of 
youth. 

The rambling propensity dies away with the weight 
of years, and a desire for the comforts of life supplants 
it. The newspaper has not lost its glamour for the 
wanderer. He is now a seasoned printer, with a 
seasoned mind, seasoned habits, and a seasoned ambi- 
tion. 

Where could a better editor be found? Where one 
more efficient? No school of training could be more 
thorough. All the elements that make up a great 
editor have been exercised and knit firmly in the hey- 
day of life. The successful editor is the one who col- 
lects the news of the day and presents it to his readers 
in the most concise and attractive form. He must be 
sure of his facts, and he must clothe them conscien- 
tiously. But it is essential that he should know what 
news is before he essays to collect it. 

Who is there so competent to select news as the 
careful compositor, — the man who has been sifting it 
all his life? Who is so able to satisfy the newspaper 
demands of the people? He has been among them 
and of them in his wanderings, and in his character as 



358 Celebration of the 

editor he is still of and among tliem. He moulds his 
editorial expression of thought from an experience 
born from a direct association with those interested. 
He speaks by the card alone. His ticket to newspaper 
prosperity is unpunched by collegiate education, but it 
is a ticket readily recognized by the people, and one 
that frequently passes its owner into the realm of 
wealth and the fane of fame. The born printer, Mr. 
Chairman, is the born editor. 

Some say that a new era is dawning in journalism ; 
that men educated in collegiate schools are assuming 
the helm ; that aesthetic methods are to be applied to 
the columns of the new newspapers dotting the land 
like mushrooms in a sheep pasture ; that a web of 
newspaper trusts is to cover the country and secure the 
patronage of the people, and that all the old journals 
must follow suit or go to the wall. 

All this may go for what it is worth. The past 
shows that the people have recognized the printing- 
office as the true school of journalism, and I fancy that 
it will hold good in the future and as long as a Typo- 
graphical Union lives and flourishes on the free soil of 
this Republic. 

" pressmen's union, no. 4," 

the next toast, was responded to by Charles W. Miller, 
who said, — 

When the International Typographical Union began 
its work of organizing the pressmen into separate 
bodies, it seems to me, they must have been convinced 
that we were rapidly drifting towards what might be 
termed an age of specialties, and that such were the 
multiplied devices of human genius that success was 
now to be attained in almost any enterprise or pursuit 
of an honorable character. 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 359 

The printers of to-day are more distinctly divided 
into two classes than in former times, — that is to say, 
they ranked as compositors and pressmen, known to 
the mass of the people simply as printers, but still 
quite distinct in their labors. Each has a well-defined 
line of operation to pursue, although the art of print- 
ing cannot be developed without due attention to both, 
nor excellency attained in either without the skilful 
manipulation of types and the intelligent management 
of presses, which in the hands of pressmen clearly 
define the "rules" and make "impressions" that are 
in keeping with a full knowledge of the times in which 
we live. 

As is well known, our branch of typography has its 
local organizations, but we are all subordinate to one 
spirit prevailing over all, because there is one object in 
view, — the happy result and development of individual 
labor. For it is a fact that when one spirit has infused 
itself into other spirits and there is one spirit pervading 
all, then the best results are accomplished. Unity is 
that power which, like a subtle force streaming from 
mind to mind, produces harmony of thought and action. 
It is a silver cord thrown by one member around an- 
other so as to bind the two together. It is an influence 
which clothes the feeblest arm with strength. 

Pressmen's Union, No. 4, is largely composed of 
competent pressmen, — such pressmen as are found in 
Philadelphia, the home of George W. Childs, — press- 
men who appreciate the blessed results of unity ; press- 
men, the light from whose presses flashes in all direc- 
tions ; pressmen who possess the ability so to ornament 
the pages of a book that they become as pleasing and 
attractive to the eye as the contents are interesting to 
the mind and heart ; pressmen to whose care is com- 
mitted machinery of intricate and costly workmanship. 



360 Celebration of the 

And still the pressman is a co-operator with the 
compositor in joint efforts to promote the same end. 
If we had type, but no presses, of what avail are they 
to any considerable extent? If we had presses in 
abundance, but no type, nor intelligent compositors to 
set the same in order, where the pressman's calling? 
An editor writes hurried lines ; they are given to the 
compositor; by him transmitted to the pressman; in 
the morning the sheets fly abroad ; before night they 
have carried their weight of influence over space 
enough for an empire. Neither the editor, compositor, 
nor pressman is visible to the multitudes ; but from 
the pen that writes a volume and the press that sends 
it forth to the world there flows a current of intellectual 
power that can shape the affairs of a nation. As the 
sun is not conscious of the overflowing light which he 
pours upon the world, so the pressman is not aware of 
the widely extended influence of his work. But he is 
always making " impressions" while fulfilling his daily 
task. Again, as the light of the sun is not the least 
abated by shining upon two continents instead of one, 
so the work of a pressman will be admired and ap- 
preciated in any part of the globe where there are in- 
telligent minds, with hearts to feel and eyes to read. 

I referred a few moments ago to the happy results 
of union in the development of individual labor. Let 
me say that there is at this day no brighter example 
of the happy results of a steady aim and singleness of 
purpose than that afforded by the life and beneficent 
acts of George W. Childs. To him, as a Philadelphian, 
we may point with just pride. He is the printer's un- 
wavering friend, and yet the unselfish advocate and 
helper of all pursuits that have a tendency to elevate 
the human race. Over and over again I say, honor to 
the name and praise to the deeds of George W. Childs ! 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 36 1 



"THE CHILDS-DREXEL FUND" 

was ably responded to by Mr. August Donatb, one of 
the trustees of that fund, who, in the course of his re- 
marks, said. — 

One thing the Pittsburgh convention did not expect 
was the ten-thousand-dollar gift. The confidence re- 
posed in the I. T. U. and the craft, which was implied 
by that gift, was keenly appreciated all over the land. 
That confidence kept inviolate, and the fund increased 
in so graceful a manner, made all the Union printers 
feel proud of their profession. It was a token of good- 
will and encouragement to workingmen. 

"the phlladelphia typographical society" 

was responded to by Mr. William C. Bleloch, who 
said, — 

The Philadelphia Typographical Society is the 
printers' beneficial society, organized in 1803 for the 
purpose of relieving distress among its members and 
their families, occasioned by sickness and death. From 
the date of organization to the present time — a period 
of eighty-five years — it has not failed in its sacred 
mission. The sick have been visited, the dead buried, 
and the widows and orphans cared for, to the best 
alility of the officers in charge, and to the greatest ex- 
tent that the limited means at their disposal would 
permit. 

Its active membership has at all times included the 
best men of the craft in Philadelphia 5 and among its 
honorary members have been many who, as printers, 
publishers, and authors, have shed lustre upon their 
several callings, and dignified and honored the Society 
by their membership. Among these names, enrolled 
Q 31 



362 Celebration of the 

in 1867, is that of George "W. Childs, who, at that early 
date, had endeared himself to the printing fraternity 
as a just and liberal employer, and a kind-hearted, 
charitable man. 

In October, 1868, Mr. Childs donated to the Society, 
without restriction or incumbrance, a large and beauti- 
fully enclosed lot in the Woodlands Cemetery, valued 
at eight thousand dollars, as a Printers' Cemetery. 
This noble benefaction — free to all printers — excited 
the wonder and admiration of the country. It was 
gratefully received by the Society, and has frequently 
been used for the purpose intended. For nearly twenty 
years all expenses connected with its keeping have been 
defrayed by its generous donor; and in addition, hun- 
dreds of dollars have been contributed by him to the 
Society's general relief work. 

The incident referred to by General Neilson is an- 
other instance of Mr. Childs's continuous generosity. 
He not only knows how to do a good thing, but he 
does not weary in well-doing. Taking an average com- 
positor's day's work, the money paid by him to the 
Ledger compositors, over and above the Union scale of 
prices, amounts to the large sum of over ten thousand 
dollars per annum, and this has been going on un- 
grudgingly for twelve years. Is it any wonder that 
the printers of Philadelphia and the country love and 
esteem such a man ? 

As disciples of Franklin, we must also thank George 
W. Childs for displaying in front of the Public Ledger 
building the only statue of the Printer-Philosopher of 
which Philadelphia can boast. 

To quote the elegant language of the late Chief 
Justice Ellis Lewis (an old printer), " Mr. Childs has 
planted himself in the human heart, and there he will 
have his habitation while man shall dwell upon earth. 



Birthday of George V/. Childs. 863 

He has built his monument upon the broad base of 
universal benevolence ; its superstructure is composed 
of good and noble deeds : its spire is the love of God, 
and points to Heaven." 

He stands out among men — 

" Like some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, 
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm ,• 
Though round its base the rolling clouds may spread, 
Eternal sunshine settles on its head." 



"THE UNION PRINTER. 77 

The address of Mr. George Chance, of the Philadel- 
phia Record, and late President of Typographical Union, 
in answer to the toast "The Union Printer," was 
probably the most humorous and entertaining of the 
evening. He said, — 

Mr. Chairman, — I hardly know how to respond to 
the sentiment just given without, to a certain extent, 
appearing in the light of praising myself as well as 
those around me. " The Union Printer" may be viewed 
from two stand-points. The employer who desires to 
buy his labor in the cheapest market can see nothing 
in him that is commendable or necessary. He sees 
only a man who bands himself with others of a like 
ilk to control his employer's business ; who, by joining 
a Union, commits an act which is destructive of the 
individual freedom of the workman by taking away 
from him the natural right to the control of his labor. 
Of course, the non-Union employing printer recognizes 
and praises the freedom of action which allows him 
to dictate terms to each person he employs. He soon 
finds the weakness and necessities of each, and gener- 
ally uses his knowledge for all it is worth. The Union 
employer views "The Union Printer" in a different 



364 Celebration of the 

light. He recognizes the right of his employees to a 
voice in regulating the price of their labor. They meet 
and agree upon a scale of wages, which the employer 
pays willingly. In return the Union printer gives his 
best recompense in the way of honest work. He is 
ever watchful of his duty to his employer, and equally 
vigilant over his own rights. He is true not only to 
himself but to his fellow-unionists in all that the word 
implies. He is a necessity in every community. By 
his unionism he secures the nearest approach to that 
text which says, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." 
By his unionism he helps to make the State and Nation 
prosperous. A city or State may be wealthy and 
powerful while its people may be poor and unhappy. 
It is part of the duty of the Union printer to see that 
the people partake of the general prosperity. He 
believes in principles before men, and would make any 
sacrifice to preserve his connection with the Union. 
He is a believer in the rights of man ; believes that his 
handicraft should receive the highest possible reward, 
and that he has the right, by organization, to obtain 
what he could not get singly, — a just recompense for 
his labor. 

Mr. Chance facetiously alluded to the ability of the 
printer to edit a newspaper far better than the man- 
aging editor, to make the local column more interest- 
ing than the city editor, and to a knowledge of finance 
superior to that of the editor in charge of the financial 
column. He was surprised that any good Union printer, 
with ail these bright prospects before him, should ever 
descend to go to Congress. 

It might be true, as Junius Henri Browne suggested, 
that u printers do not keep all the commandments •," 
but, in all seriousness, the Union printer is an honor- 
able man, who believes in doing right by his employer 



Birthday of George W. Chllds. 365 

and living up to those principles of loyalty which his 
Union instilled into his mind. 

The Hon. Mr. Farquhar has stated that, thirty-seven 
years ago, the Typographical Union was organized in 
New York. I have in ray possession a copy of a con- 
stitution of the Philadelphia Typographical Union, or- 
ganized in 1850, and the President of that Union still 
lives in this city, and, although unable to make his 
living by the pursuit of his trade, he has been placed 
by Mr. Childs in a position where he will never want. 

[Mr. Chance referred to John L. Henderson, one of 
the oldest Ledger compositors, who has been retired 
many years by Mr. Childs on full pay.] 

There was an employer who, in the goodness of his 
heart, sent five thousand dollars to the International 
Typographical Union. There was another who did the 
same. Never were printers more taken by surprise. 
At Pittsburgh it was made possible to meet here to- 
night, and on successive twelfths of May to commemo- 
rate the gift of this gentleman, and, when he shall have 
passed away, for the Union printers to erect a monu- 
ment to his memory. A monument whose foundation 
would be built on strong man's love : the shaft of 
which would be stronger than steel and more lasting 
than brass : whose polished sides would be inlaid with 
diamonds and pearls, — the diamonds representing 
widows' grateful tears ; the pearls, orphans' prayers 
offered up in grateful thanks for the good deeds done 
by this man during his life. 

JOEL COOK'S SPEECH. 

In a pleasant way, Mr. Joel Cook responded to " The 

Press,'' and paid his compliments to the Congressmen 

and the printers. " Although the editors and the 

printers differ about many things, they can shake 

31* 



366 Celebration of the 

hands over the chasm of one thing, and that is the 
annihilation of the proof-reader." 

When the laughter following this pleasantry had 
subsided, Mr. Cook turned his attention to the New 
York Sun, for which the obituary poetry of the Ledger 
had a peculiar fascination. " One great redeeming 
trait of that paper, however, is that it always gives 
credit to the journal from which it makes extracts. In 
pursuing this policy it charged Mr. Childs with putting 
this poetry in the paper. In this it made a mistake, 
for the man who really did it was ; Jim' Dailey, the 
foreman." 

Growing serious, Mr. Cook said, — 

My recollection of the gentleman Avho is being hon- 
ored by this banquet dates back to boyhood. To use a 
quoted expression, Mr. Childs is " an Israelite without 
guile." The thing in him that is plainest to me is that 
there is less of evil in him than in any man I ever knew. 
No man can say that he went to him with a tale of true 
sorrow and came away empty-handed. He overlooks 
our shortcomings in the Ledger office, and many of us 
have done that which might be cause for dismissal from 
other establishments. But we are all there, still serv- 
ing, because he could not frame his lips to say the word 
that would cause our departure. 

Mr. Cook then seconded a suggestion of Mr. Munday 
that, if Mr. Childs could preside so well over the Ledger 
office, he could preside equally well over the nation. 
He spoke of Mr. Childs' s pronounced and outspoken 
views on the labor question, and said that lie recog- 
nized the value of organization, and the recompense 
of honest toil, believing that to be the very foundation- 
stone upon which the nation rests. Mr. Cook touched 
upon the International Union, which he regarded as 
the greatest labor organization on the face of the globe, 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 367 

and urged that, by wise counsel and adherence to honest 
principles, it might continue doing a beneficent work 
for the whole country. 

CONGRESSMAN JAMES ? DONNELL, 

of Michigan, was the next speaker, but, owing to the 
lateness of the hour, his remarks were brief. He was 
received with a very hearty demonstration of regard. 
He said that, a long time ago, when he was contem- 
plating the number of railroad ties between his West- 
ern home and Philadelphia, he sent ahead of him a 
letter addressed to the Public Ledger, asking employ- 
ment. The letter had not been answered to date, but 
he had no complaints to make. Mr. O'Donnell enter- 
tained his hearers with some humorous suggestions, 
and then passed to the honored guest of the evening. 
"Have you ever thought," he asked, " of the chaplet 
above in reward for the good deeds that he has done?"' 
He then passed rapidly over what he regarded as note- 
worthy points in Mr. Childs' s career, and closed with 
a reference to the flag of the Union and to the typical 
flag of strength in the Union, the flag of the Interna- 
tional Typographical Union. Mr. O'Donnell said that 
it had been the intention of the printer-Congressmen 
and the other visiting ex-printers to go to some office 
in the evening and set up a thousand ems as a contri- 
bution to the Childs-Drexel Fund. Owing to the late- 
ness of the hour, however, they would not be able to 
fulfil the intention. The spirit of the suggestion was 
warmly applauded.* 



* Mr. O'Donnell and his printer colleagues, eight in all, after 
their return to Washington, on May 19, did set up one thousand 
ems each, and handed the amount to Mr. August Donath, one 
of the Trustees of the Childs-Drexel Fund, who forwarded it 
to Treasurer Dailey. 



368 Celebration of the 

CONGRESSMAN JOHN NICHOLS, 

of North Carolina, spoke as follows : 

Beautiful deeds, like beautiful thoughts, whether in- 
scribed on the printed page, or transferred to the artist's 
canvas by the hand of genius, will live forever. 

It is not the most bountiful benefactions nor the 
grandest displays of honor or admiration that make the 
most pleasing and lasting impressions on the human 
mind. It is the spirit, the manner, and the motive that 
actuated their performance. 

The assemblage here this evening is for the purpose 
of doing honor, in a humble way, to one of our most 
distinguished and most honored citizens. 

But nothing that we can do, nothing that we can say, 
will add a single laurel to his crown or make him more 
honored in the estimation of the American people. It 
would be like an effort to paint the rainbow or to gild 
the beams of a noonday sun. He stands forth without 
a rival as the great American editor. 

There is nothing that discloses real character more 
thoroughly than the grand position of editor of an 
influential public journal. Perhaps there is not an 
instance in the history of journalism in this country 
where self has been so thoroughly subordinated to the 
public welfare and the happiness of his fellow-man as 
has been exhibited in the person of the gentleman who 
does us all honor by his presence this evening. 

It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people 
can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a 
man really is, give him power and influence. This is 
the supreme test. 

Your distinguished guest occupies a position to-day 
far more honorable than if he sat in the highest councils 
of his country, and can and does wield more influence 
than the bedecked marshal of a nation. 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 369 

One of the highest compliments ever paid an editor 
is contained in a single line. A contemporary, speak- 
ing of the newspaper over which your honored guest 
presides with such distinguished ability, says, " Noth- 
ing false is printed in the Ledger." 

While no compliments that we can bestow, no honors 
we can confer, will elevate him in the estimation of 
his countrymen, yet this large and intelligent gather- 
ing of American printers is not an unmeaning occasion. 
It is to do honor and manifest our appreciation of his 
worth as a citizen and a journalist, and to pay homage, 
if that be the correct expression, to the great printer- 
philanthropist. 

It is with that spirit that I accepted your kind invi- 
tation to be with you this evening, and I thank the 
Committee on Invitations for the opportunity of being 
present. 

This meeting, as I understand it, is one of Ex- 
Delegates to the International Typographical Union. 
Strictly speaking, I do not know that I can claim that 
distinguished designation. In 1861 I had the honor 
of being elected a delegate to the National Union by 
Raleigh (N. C.) Typographical Union, No. 54, of which 
I was then an active, and of which I am now an hon- 
orary member. 

It will be remembered, however, that about that time 
there was a strike on the south side of the Potomac, 
and the form of the Union was slightly pied. A press 
of circumstances rendered useless for a while all the 
implements known to the profession, except the shoot-- 
ing-stick. With positive instructions to follow copy, in- 
stead of going to the National Union, I went elsewhere. 

This change of situation did not secure any very fat 
takes, but as we were on by time, and not by the piece, 
no question was raised about pay. 

y 



370 Celebration of the 

During the conflict that resulted from this ill-advised 
and unfortunate strike, which we now look back upon 
with emotions of wonder and astonishment, there were 
many columns of live matter knocked into jn, and some 
of the best types of living manhood wholly destroyed. 

After a long and fearful struggle, however, {he form 
of the Union was reset and stereotyped, and an impres- 
sion made on the hearts of the American people that 
time can never blot or obliterate. 

Now, with duty plainer, let us stand up to the retch, 
and leave no stone unturned to upbuild the waste places 
of our country, but press on in setting good examples 
to the world, and present clean proofs that henceforth 
and forever we are solid for the American Union. 

CONGRESSMAN ROBERT J. VANCE, 

of Connecticut, was then introduced. After telling a 
story, he said that in his rounds during the day he had 
seen the statue of one of the first American printers in 
front of the Ledger building. That printer came from 
New England. His name was Franklin, and he had a 
loaf of bread with him. " The only fault that I have 
to find with the statue of this printer," said Mr. Vance, 
" is that it does not represent the original with a loaf 
of bread under his arm." 

Growing earnest, Mr. Vance said that if there were 
any among historic men who had won fame, they were 
George Peabody, Peter Cooper, and George W. Childs. 
Peabody scattered his money abroad for the benefit 
of mankind ; Cooper invested in monuments in New 
York ; and Childs constructed monuments in this city. 

The last was the greatest of all philanthropists. His 
every impulse was good. There were none of the 
vile ingredients in him. He was " a man, take him all 
in all." 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 371 



REMARKS BY MAJOR J. J. NOAH. 

" The Printer as a Washington Correspondent" was 
the next toast proposed, and Major Jacob J. Noah, 
Washington correspondent of the Denver News and 
Kansas City Times, was called upon to respond. Major 
Noah said, — 

He deemed it a high privilege to be present on this 
occasion, and join with his fellow-craftsmen in doing 
lienor to that eminent citizen and philanthropist, George 
W. Childs, whose name was a sjnonyme throughout the 
civilized world for all that was upright, honorable, and 
beneficent. The orbit of his good deeds had not been 
restricted to the limits of his own country, but his 
name was justly honored among the men of other 
lands. While all that he is and all that he possesses 
were the legitimate fruits of his own indomitable 
energy and illimitable enterprise, yet had he always 
reached out the helping hand to the needy, and, to the 
extent of more than his ability, relieved the distresses 
of his fellow-man. That this had been the great 
pleasure and solace of his busy life was more than 
apparent. The quality of his long line of mercies had 
not been strained, for truly had it " blessed him that 
gives and him that takes," and Shakespeare's tribute 
to Mercy's great virtues found substantial echo in the 
hearts of the sturdy members of the Typographical 
and Pressmen's Unions, and the many friends gathered 
here to honor and celebrate the anniversary of his 
birth. 

Major Noah stated that when he called upon Mr. 
Childs that morning and was presented by his friend 
and colleague, Major John M. Carson, his hand was 
grasped and he received warm welcome. " I knew 
your father before you," said Mr. Childs. "He was 



372 Celebration of the 

the leading editor of his day and time, and, I think, 
was born in Philadelphia." 

Major Noah added that he was taken by surprise, 
from the fact that thirty-seven years had passed since 
the death of his father, the late Mordecai M. Noah. 
He was dead, but evidently not forgotten. The fact 
was then recalled that Messrs. Swain, Abell, and Sim- 
mons, the original founders of the Philadelphia Ledger, 
worked as journeyman printers in his father's neAvs- 
paper office at New York, in the halcyon days of the 
" sixpenny press," and that their subsequent successes 
in establishing the "penny press" had been a measure 
of great satisfaction to their old employer. 

Major Noah then narrated various interesting remi- 
niscences of leading journalists who were at the fore 
when he first came upon the newspaper scene, among 
them James Watson Webb, James Gordon Bennett, Si\, 
William L. Stone, Horace Greeley, Park Benjamin, 
Nathaniel P. Willis, Gen. George P. Morris, Evert A. 
Duyckinck, Cornelius Mathews, Casper C. Childs, 
Thaddeus W. Meighan, Henry J. Raymond, Charles 
A. Dana, David M. Stone, and others. 

He closed his remarks by observing that George W. 
Childs was worthy the title given the late Gen. George 
H. Thomas by Col. H. M. Duffield, the orator at the 
late reunion of the Army of the Cumberland, " omnium 
gentium facile princeps." Thomas, as a soldier, was 
of all soldiers the " recognized chief." George W. 
Childs, as citizen and philanthropist, was of all citizens 
equally the "recognized chief." 

REMARKS BY MAJOR JOHN M. CARSON. 

When the applause ceased which followed the con- 
clusion of Major Noah's remarks, Major John M. Car- 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 373 

son, Chief of the Public Ledger Bureau at Washington, 
was called upon. 

He said it was a peculiar gratification to him that he 
could claim membership with the fraternity represented 
upon this occasion. The men present to-night did not 
receive a parchment certificate when they were gradu- 
ated, yet they were constituents of alumni in whose 
ranks have been found many men of the highest intel- 
lectual force, of great moral worth, and great practical 
usefulness. In none of the vocations could there be 
found a greater degree of intelligence than was found 
among printers, and to that fact might be ascribed 
their strength and their influence when united. No 
other vocation could send forth a class of representa- 
tives such as were here to-night, every one of whom 
had started in life as a journeyman printer. The 
printing-office was a continuation of the public school, 
and its opportunities rightfully improved almost in- 
variably led men to higher walks of usefulness and 
kept its graduates untainted by those meretricious 
influences that so often attended and remained with 
graduates of colleges. 

There were present to-night gentlemen who had 
reached the halls of Congress through the printing- 
office. They were among the most able and useful men 
in that body, and there was no doubt that the knowl- 
edge and experience acquired in the printing-office had 
mainly contributed to their success in life. 

Many years ago, when working at "case" in this 
city as an apprentice, with James J. Dai ley occupying 
an adjoining " alley," and Joel Cook learning to set type 
with the aid of a discarded "font," he did not dream 
he would ever be associated with those two boys on the 
Public Ledger, which was then, as it now is, the repre- 
sentative newspaper of the city and State. 
32 



374 Celebration of the 

Referring to the special object of the gathering to- 
night, Major Carson said he was particularly delighted 
at the privilege of joining the Association in doing 
honor to George W. Childs. There was a comprehen- 
siveness and significance in the gathering which was 
only limited by the boundaries of the American conti- 
nent; which represented and which reached to the 
very bottom of the hearts of men who labor ; which 
commanded the admiration and approval of the friends 
of those who labor, and which was an enigma to that 
selfish and merciless class of men who use their fellows 
only to promote their own personal aims and ambitions. 
It must be a gratifying reflection to Mr. Childs that 
he has won not alone the love of those with whom he 
has been brought in frequent personal contact, and the 
gratitude of the many who have been relieved by his 
charity and gladdened by his liberality, but the esteem 
and good-will of the people of the United States. Was 
it to be wondered at that the American people, coming 
to know this man through his unselfish and benevolent 
works, — tired of the hypocrisy of political parties, 
the masquerading of partisan propagandists, and the 
treachery of partisan leaders, — should naturally turn 
to and ask him to become their ruler as well as their 
guide and friend ? 

" And yet," continued Major Carson, with earnest- 
ness, ''this simple citizen, this unostentatious man, 
who has won the hearts of the people by kind acts, has 
recently given an exhibition of self-abnegation, an 
illustration of patriotic fervor, an example of sublime 
courage that has excited public wonder, and challenged 
universal respect ; he has positively, deliberately re- 
fused to be even considered in connection with the 
bestowal of the highest reward that can come from a 
free people, and the most honorable office that can 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 375 

be conferred upon mortal man, — in short, George W. 
Childs has refused to become President of the United 
States. 

" The horde of speculating politicians who fasten 
themselves upon successful parties, with ravenous 
appetites for distinction and provender ; who, like By- 
Ends, in ' Pilgrim's Progress,' followed Religion for 
the silver slippers she wore, affect to make light of the 
spontaneous popular movement which manifested itself 
for Mr. Childs. It is not the first time that camp- 
followers were mistaken in the real purpose of those 
who move grand armies in the field, and grander armies 
in the realm of healthful thought. This movement 
was not superficial and ephemeral ; it was deep and 
deliberate and earnest, and was frustrated only by Mr. 
Childs's honest determination and direct outspoken 
refusal. 

" My position in Washington affords opportunities 
for meeting representative men, and studying popular 
sentiment on national questions, and my observation 
has enabled me to form an estimate of the extent and 
sincerity of the movement for Mr. Childs, among the 
representative men of the whole country and to which 
reference has been made to-night by different speakers. 
To show its extent and sincerity, let me say that the 
publisher of one of the strongest and most influential 
Democratic daily newspapers in the East begged Mr. 
Childs to permit himself to be nominated for President 
of the United States, and gave force to his entreaty by 
the assurance that Mr. Childs should have the earnest 
support of his newspaper, and pledged himself to sub- 
scribe one hundred thousand dollars, the day Mr. 
Childs should be nominated, towards defraying the 
necessary expenses of the election. Another distin- 
guished man, the proprietor of one of the leading 



376 Celebration of the 

Democratic newspapers of the West, made similar 
appeals to Mr. Childs, and offered to subscribe fifty 
thousand dollars to elect him. Requests and offers of 
like character were made by men who control powerful 
Republican journals. Leading men of the two political 
parties recognized the depth of this popular feeling, 
and the more sagacious of them admitted if it were 
not interfered with it would result in the nomination 
and election of Mr. Childs to the Presidency of the 
United States. These facts are personally known to 
me. and many others to the same effect might be cited. 
They are mentioned here to show that the movement 
to make Mr. Childs President of the United States was 
real and substantial, and extended to all classes of 
people. But the production of corroborating testimony 
upon this point is not necessary in this assembly, where 
Mr. Childs is so well known and so thoroughly ap- 
preciated." 

Major Carson concluded with an appropriate tribute 
to the character and virtues of Mr. Childs ; a man 
whose every-day life furnished a lesson for emulation ; 
a man who was moved by the spirit of an unbounded 
benevolence ; whose charity was not restricted by par- 
tisan or sectarian lines-, who "would not follow Nep- 
tune for his trident, or Jove for his power to thunder ;" 
who carried sunshine to the homes and hearts of a 
greater number of people, and who represented a 
broader and deeper and purer humanity than any man 
with whom he had been brought in contact. "You 
do well," he said, in conclusion, "as individuals and 
as an association to honor this man, and in doing honor 
to him you most do honor yourselves." 

After singing " Auld Lang Syne," in which all 
present joined, the pleasant assemblage slowly dis- 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 377 

persed from what was a remarkably successful celebra- 
tion. 

We insert a few out of the large number 
of letters and telegrams received from prom- 
inent persons who were unable to be present. 

LETTER FROM HON. SIMON CAMERON. 

Brookfield Farm, May 12, 1888. 

I am sorry, beyond my power to express, that I will 
not be able to meet my fellow-craftsmen at dinner this 
evening, as I had so hoped to do. 

To do Mr. Childs honor is always a real pleasure to 
me, but I find myself in such condition that it is far 
easier for me to go home than to take the risk of at- 
tending the banquet. 

My life as a printer is one of the periods of it to 
which I look back with great satisfaction, and I know 
very well that the good men and true who will celebrate 
Mr. Childs's birthday to-night are keeping undimmed 
the glorious record of their noble and useful calling. 
Sincerely your friend, 

Simon Cameron. 

letter fkom harper & brothers, publishers. 
Franklin Square, Xew York, May 15, 1888. 
Dear Mr. Childs, — We regret that we were unable 
to join with our brethren of the craft in their dinner of 
the 12th inst., commemorating your birthday. "While, 
however, it would have been an honor to honor you 
on that occasion, there is left to us the abiding pleasure 
of honoring you on all occasions, and of assuring you 
of our faithful friendship. 

32* 



378 Celebration of the 

It is a satisfaction to us to believe that we of the 
second and third generation of our house retain the 
cordial regard shown to our fathers by you, our illus- 
trious fellow-printer and countryman, who by your 
kind and worthy acts have won the grateful love of the 
world. 

Yours always, very sincerely, 

Harper & Brothers. 



LETTER FROM COL. A. K. M'CLURE, EDITOR 
PHILADELPHIA TIMES. 

Philadelphia, May 12, 1888. 

A pressure of engagements compels me to deny 
myself the pleasure of joining in the appropriate cel- 
ebration of the birthday of George W. Childs ; but I 
cannot let the occasion pass without expressing my 
appreciation of the foremost of publishers and em- 
ployers in all that attaches the highest honors to those 
vocations. 

There is not a publisher in Philadelphia who does 
not heartily join in the highest tribute to Mr. Childs^ 
whose distinction is above the reach of jealousies, and 
who has justly won the trust and affection of the 
printers of the whole land. He is the one man of ex- 
ceptional success who is beloved by all, and his name 
will be crystallized in history as the benefactor of his 
age. 

The world will honor the man above all others who 
can sincerely decline its highest honors of public trust : 
and the celebration of his birthday is commemorating 
the noblest qualities of American citizenship. 
Very truly yours, 

A. K. McClure. 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 379 



LETTER FROM THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME 
COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Philadelphia, May 12, 1888. 
My dear Mr. Childs, — I regret that my official en- 
gagements will prevent my presence at the dinner this 
evening in your honor. I have, as you well know, a 
warm feeling for the craft. In my boyhood days I 
became fired with the ambition to edit and publish a 
country newspaper, and in order to enable me to do so 
successfully I acquired a practical knowledge of the 
business. I look back upon those days as among the 
happiest of my life, and the associations then formed 
will long be cherished. The late Bayard Taylor and 
Hon. Wm. Butler, our admirable Judge of the United 
States Court, were among my companions in the 
printing-office. You will understand, therefore, why 
my heart always warms to the craft, and especially 
does it warm to yourself and my noble friend, Mr. 
Drexei, who have done so much to contribute to the 
happiness and prosperity of the order, by your broad 
and intelligent charity. May the Lord bless you both, 
and increase your prosperity, that you may have the 
means to bless others. 

I am sincerely your friend, 

Edward M. Paxson. 
Mr. Geo. W. Childs. 

LETTER FROM THOMAS MACKELLAR, OF MACKELLAR, 
SMITHS & JORDAN, TYPE-FOUNDERS. 

Philadelphia, May 12, 1888. 
During the very many years of my acquaintance with 
my much-esteemed friend Mr. George "W. Childs, he has 
always manifested the admirable traits of character and 



380 Celebration of the 

demeanor which still characterize him as a man among 
men, — the same kindness, urbanity, generosity, benev- 
olence, public spirit, and business enterprise, that impel 
the printing craft (among whom I am proud of having 
been reared) to remember and celebrate his birthday. 

Aware, as I am, of his private benevolences to weary 
and worn-out printers and their families which are un- 
known to the world, as well as of his well-known pub- 
lic good doings, I often say, Would there were many 
more George W. Childs's in this world to lessen the sum 
of human sorrow in it ! God bless him ! 
So prays 

Thomas MacKellar. 

letter from hon. john russell young, late 
u. s. minister to china. 
Herald Office, New York, May 12, 1888. 

I am much honored by your kind invitation to attend 
the banquet to be given by the Ex-Delegates to the In- 
ternational Typographical Union on the occasion of the 
birthday of George W. Childs. 

I have known Mr. Childs intimately since my boy- 
hood, and under circumstances which have enabled me 
to know his character and career. I know of no char- 
acter that may be better studied, for the good that will 
come, by the young men of the nation, who in their 
entrance upon life seek the example of the wise and 
true men that have gone before. In him they will see 
absolute rectitude, a command of himself above the 
allurements and temptations of the day amounting to 
asceticism ; patient, persevering, knowing his own 
mind, and ever going to his purpose with a Napoleonic 
clearness and alertness of vision ; believing in himself 
and in the work he has to do ; with the genius of com- 
mon sense ; with perfect courage ; a judgment that 



Birthday of George W. Childs, 381 

wastes no time on illusions or dreams ; the best busi- 
ness head I have ever known ; in poverty and in wealth, 
in obscurity and in fame, always found by me to 
be the considerate, courteous, ever-thoughtful, high- 
minded gentleman and friend. The instinct which 
prompts you to honor such a man is an honest one, and 
to be commended in all ways as your due and loyal 
tribute to him. 

I am sorry that I cannot be with you. I send you 
my good wishes and best thanks for your remembrance. 
I trust that I may be permitted to unite with you in 
the hope that our noble friend may live for many and 
many a happy year to enjoy the day you celebrate. 
Yours sincerely, 

John Russell Young. 

letter from congressman gallinger. 

Concord, N. H., May 11, 1888. 

When I left Washington for my New England home 
a few days ago, it was my purpose to plan my return 
trip so as to be in attendance upon the banquet on 
Saturday evening.. Unfortunately, business matters, 
which can neither be transacted before that time nor 
permanently neglected, render it utterly impossible for 
me to be with you on the interesting occasion. 

It has never been my privilege personally to meet 
the great, good man whom you are to honor, but to me, 
in common with all true printers in the country, his 
name is a household word and a synonyme for every- 
thing that is honorable, true, and philanthropic. When 
earning my living as a printer I knew of George W. 
Childs, and learned to revere his name as an ideal 
member of the craft, and in later years, with my 
energies and purposes directed in other channels of 
honorable effort, I have never forgotten to do honor, in 



382 Celebration of the 

thought at least, to the noble man whose birthday you 
are to celebrate to-morrow evening. 

I can only add that I sincerely trust that Mr. Childs 
may live to enjoy many more birthday anniversaries, 
and that the occasion from which I am unavoidably kept 
may be one of rare pleasure and profit to those who 
may attend. 

Very sincerely yours, 

J. H. Gallinger. 

TELEGRAM FROM CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON. 

Washington, D. C, May 12, 1888. 
I am unavoidably obliged to forego the anticipated 
pleasure of banqueting with the Ex-Delegates' Associ- 
ation in honor of the birthday of Mr. Childs, who so 
eminently fills, in } r our city of friends, the place of the 
great preceptor of our craft. My hearty congratula- 
tions to Mr. Childs and your Association! 

Thos. L. Thompson. 

TELEGRAM FROM CIVIL-SERVICE COMMISSIONER 
J. H. OBERLY, EX-PRESIDENT I. T. U. 

Washington, D. C, May 12, 188S. 
Much to my disappointment, I find myself unable 
to be present at the birthday dinner of Mr. George W. 
Childs. I send my hearty wishes for the entire success 
of the occasion, and my personal congratulations to Mr. 
Childs on the recurrence of the day which the craft of 
the whole country honors in your celebration. 

John II. Oberly. 

LETTER FROM WM. AIMISON, PRESIDENT I. T. U. 

Nashville, Tenn., May 5, 1S88. 
... I regret my inability to be present, owing to the 
nearness of the meeting of the International Typo- 



Birthday of George W. Chitds. 383 

graphical Union, and the rush of business incident 
thereto. There is no one to-day, within the jurisdic- 
tion of the I. T. U., whom the printers of the country 
would delight to honor more than Mr. Childs. May 
his birthdays be continued, and when the warm heart 
and charitable hand are stilled in death, may his 
memory be as a refreshing draught to strengthen and 
to re-encourage us in the battle of life ! 

Yery respectfully, 

Wm. Aimisox. 

letter from ex-presidext witter. 

St. Louis, Mo v May 9, 1888. 
... I desire to assure you of my hearty sympathy 
with your efforts to do honor to the birthday of Mr. 
Childs. Our craft has especial cause for gratitude to 
Mr. Childs ; not merely because of his generous recog- 
nition of our organization, and the good-will which 
has always characterized his conduct towards us, but 
because the day when fair-dealing shall be the rule in 
every printing-office is hastened by his conspicuous 
example. Such examples are to us a guarantee for 
the future. Justice between men is the simple solution 
for the perplexing "problem/' Mr. Childs has not 
only been wise enough to see the truth, but unselfish 
enough to practise it. 

Fraternally yours, 

M. R. H. Witter. 

LETTER FROM CHIEF OEGAXIZER BOYER. 

Columbus, 0., May 8, 1S88. 
... I hereby send my regrets at not being able to 
attend. No other labor organization in this or any 
other country has ever received such consideration at 



384 Celebration of the 

the hands of any one man as did the International 
Typographical Union, in June, 1886, from George W. 
Childs, whose name is revered and honored throughout 
the entire jurisdiction of the grand body. . . . Long 
life and happiness to the friends of Union printers, — 
George W. Childs and Anthony J. Drexel ! 

Faithfully yours, 

David P. Boyer. 



LETTER FROM JOHN VINCENT. 

Globe Office, Boston, April 30, 1888. 

. . . Permit me to unite with you in expressing to 
your honorable guest the wish for his long-continued 
health and happiness. Though confident of the reward 
that awaits him in eternity, may it be many years 
before he is called from a field in which, by his gen- 
erous, unselfish nature, he has proved himself so useful 
and valuable ! 

To George W. Childs, more than to any other man 
living, are we indebted for the present era of good 
feeling existing between employers and members of our 
craft, which has taken the place of the antagonistic 
spirit of former years. 

Iu conclusion, allow me to suggest for your consid- 
eration, as a slight recognition of his many acts of 
kindness to the craft, and of his munificent donation 
to the I. T. U., that steps be taken to have the likeness 
of George W. Childs placed on the face of the Union 
travelling card ; for he of all men, living or dead, is 
entitled to this honor. And in this suggestion I am 
confident of being seconded by every member in our 
ranks. 

Sincerely and fraternally, 

John Vincent. 



Birthday of George W. Quids. 385 



LETTER FROM STATE LIBRARIAN EGLE. 

Harrisburg, Pa., May 10, 1888. 
... I need not assure you how I would appreciate 
being in the goodly company of so many disciples of the 
typographic art, who meet to do honor to that great 
warm-hearted American gentleman, George W. Childs. 
He who has done so much good for mankind well 
merits the love and reverence of his fellow-citizens : 
and, as a token of my high esteem, and as a member 
of the royal craft, I would be delighted to add my meed 
of praise to him who is deserving of the grandest tes- 
timonial that the printers or the press can bestow. 
Sincerely yours, 

William H. Egle. 

EDITORIALS. 

As a fitting close we introduce a few edi- 
torials from various journals relative to the 
Banquet. 

From The Craftsman, Washington, Saturday, May 
19, 1888. 

(Official Paper of the International Typographical Union.) 
THE TWELFTH OF MAY. 

Right royally did the Ex-Delegates' Association of 
Philadelphia celebrate this red-letter day in the Union 
Printers' calendar. From near and far were craftsmen 
gathered around the social board, and " the Day we 
Celebrate" was marked by a tribute to the noble man 
whose name was on every tongue, which proved how 
thoroughly the many kindly deeds of George W. Childs 
R z 33 



386 Celebration of the 

are appreciated by a craft which is, perhaps, less prone 
to hero worship than any other. The gathering was 
a notable one, embracing as it did a number of Union 
printers who, though their names are now inscribed 
high on the roll of fame, are yet proud and happy to 
acknowledge allegiance to the International Typo- 
graphical Union, and to unite with their less promi- 
nent brothers in doing honor to one who has so con- 
spicuously, again and again, been pleased to honor the 
craft and its organization. 

No man occupying the position of Mr. George W. 
Childs has ever shown his good-will, his regard, his 
genuine respect for us so nobly. When bad men would 
throw suspicion on our endeavors, when unfair jour- 
nals would present us to the world as conspirators 
whose association was a menace to the peace of the land, 
this nobleman of God's own making showed his good 
opinion of us, before the world, in his own practical 
and magnificent manner. Is it a wonder that we speak 
his name as one near and dear to us ? Is it a wonder 
that on the anniversary of his birth we feel glad and 
happy and joyous that so good, so great a friend was 
given us? 

The career of Mr. Childs is marked by good deeds, 
by kindly acts, so continuous that it really seems as if 
his thoughts were ever occupied, not in devising how 
to make money, but rather how to disburse his princely 
income so as to make the largest number of deserving 
persons happy and comfortable. He is not of those 
who, having made a munificent donation, takes comfort 
in the thought that he has given to the cause of human- 
ity a goodly and sufficient share. Much as Mr. Childs 
has done to lighten the burdens and gladden the hearts 
of his fellow-men, he never wearies of the blessed work, 
but every day he marks by deeds which to him have 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 387 

become part of his existence. The craft will imitate 
our Philadelphia brothers, we are sure, by similar cele- 
brations as the years bring anniversaries of the glad 
day ; and thus the name of Childs will live in the 
printers' hearts, year after year, more enduring by far 
than monuments of bronze or marble. 

From The Union Printer, New York, May 12, 1888. 

. . . While George W. Childs needs no encomium 
from us — his life and deeds being a lasting eulogium — 
we feel an irresistible impulse to linger over his exalted 
interest in the welfare of printers. His example is an 
inspiration, and in doing him honor we thereby attest 
our appreciation of those noble qualities of mind and 
heart which have been the guiding principles of his 
career. 

From The Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia, May 24, 

1889. 

RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. CHILDS. 

It is a customary thing for the people of every 
European nation ruled by an hereditary monarch to 
celebrate the sovereign's birthday. In fact it is a 
popular function, prescribed by the State, and the 
community that neglects the perfunctory performance 
is suspected of disloyalty. The real honor of birthday 
congratulations, however, consists in their being spon- 
taneous and heartfelt. Mr. George W. Childs had a 
birthday anniversary lately, and it would be good for 
the world if he could have thousands of them. He 
is not an hereditary sovereign, or even a temporary 
holder of a high office. But he received congratula- 
tions more numerous and more sincere than any that 
were ever offered to the greatest of rulers or heroes. 



388 Celebration of the 

Thousands of newspapers, and perhaps as many letters 
and telegrams, bore greetings and good wishes to him. 
Good men and good women wrote to him, not mere 
formal words of compliment, but honest, fervent ex- 
pressions of sincere admiration and affection, united 
with prayerful invocations for all possible blessings. 
If Mr. Childs were to collect these and edit them for 
the public eye, they would astonish that public. But 
such things are sacred in his estimation. He cannot, 
however, muzzle the press, or prevent such a writer as 
Mr. George William Curtis from printing this para- 
graph in the last number of Harper's Weekly : 

u The universal kindly greeting to Mr. George W. 
Childs upon his late birthday is a pleasant illustration 
of the esteem in which he is held. Especially agree- 
able to him probably was the hearty tribute of the 
printers, who have more than once testified their regard 
for him. His heart and hand are always open to good 
causes, and his Ledger, a journal of great circulation, 
is directed with a candor and courtesy and ability 
which give it a distinctive character. The smiles of 
Fortune upon this, one of her favorites, are certainly 
justified by the spirit and manner in which he shares 
his favors with others." 

This and similar words only faintly express the 
popular love for Mr. Childs. Still more faintly do they 
suggest his incessant, untiring generosity, which is 
beyond description. An example of it, which will 
reach hundreds of thousands of magazine readers, is 
seen in a series of articles begun in the June Lippin- 
cott, the writer of which frankly says that he obtained 
the information contained in them from Mr. Childs, 
who, when appealed to for some " Recollections" of his 
life, was " proof against every temptation save that of 
doing a friendly act." To this he yielded, because it 



Birthday of George W. Childs. 389 

would help the writer, who, in turn, gives to the public 
some very entertaining and equally instructive pictures 
of the private life, from boyhood upward, of a man in 
whose career every one takes a peculiar interest. When 
completed these papers will make an autobiography 
that will be better worth regarding as a classic than 
those of many celebrated men of past times, who, 
unlike Mr. Childs, had sins to conceal or shames to 
confess. Such a life as his teaches a lesson to the 
youth of America that will help them much more than 
any to be found in the most famous books of auto- 
biography or the most brilliant of the kind called 
Confessions. For this and coming generations these 
" Kecollections" are better than Franklin's autobiog- 
raphy, and it is a happy circumstance that they have 
been put on paper and placed before the public. 



INDEX. 



Adams, John, President of United States, letter of, 65, 66. 
Aimison, William, President of International Typographical 

Union, letter from, 336. 
Album belonging to Mrs. George W. Childs, 32. 
Allibone, Samuel Austin, author of " Dictionary of British and 

American Authors," 13. 
Amaral Valente, do, J. G., Brazilian Minister to United States, 
letter from, to Mr. Childs, 46, 47. 
attends presentation ceremonies at West Point, 146. 
Andre, Major John, manuscript of his poem "The Cow- 
Chase," 61. 
Andrewes, Lancelot, Bishop, 310, 312, 313. 
" Arctic Explorations," by Dr. Kane, publication of, 12, 13. 
Arden, Mary, mother of Shakespeare, 207. 
Arnold, Sir Edwin, poet, visits Mr. Childs, 130. 
extract from letter of, 179 (note). 
editorial of, in London Daily Telegraph, 245-248. 
Arnold, Matthew, poet, address of, 297, 298. 

death of, 299. 
"Around the World with General Grant," by John Russell 
Young, 119. 

Bacon, Delia, theory of, 211, 257. 
Baltimore Dailg News, extract from, 263. 
Bancroft, George, historian, 27. 

391 



392 Index. 

Barnum, P. T., proposal of, to remove Shakespeare's house to 

America, 233, 244. 
Beale, E. F., General, expresses his admiration of General 

Grant, 138. 
Bennett, James Gordon, Sr., journalist, personal characteristics 

of, 28. 
Benton, Thomas H., 29. 
Biographical sketch of Mr. Childs, by Eugene H. Munday, 

347-351. 
Birmingham Daily Post, extract from, 252-254. 
Boyer, David P., letter from, to printers' banquet, 336, 337. 
Bright, John, quotation from, 269. 
Brooklyn Eagle, extracts from, 207-212 j 306-308. 
Browne, H. K., artist, collection of the illustrations of, 63. 
Bryant, William Cullen, poet, his translation of first book of 

the Iliad, 52, 125. 
Buckingham, Duke of, personal characteristics of, 37. 

entertains Mr. and Mrs. Childs at Stowe and Wootton, 37. 
anecdotes of, 38, 39. 
Byron, George G. N., Lord, poet, writing-desk of, 55. 
his parody of AVordsworth's " Peter Bell," 56, 57. 

Cameron, Simon, letter of, 377. 

Carson, John M., journalist, his account of the painting of 
portraits of Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, 
167-179. 

remarks of, at printers' banquet, 372-376. 
Century Magazine, 298. 
Chair embroidered by Duchess of Buckingham for Mrs. Childs, 

32, 39. 
Childs, George W., incidents in early life of, 9-14, 209, 234. 

enters United States navy, 10. 

goes into business for himself, 11. 

becomes member of the firm of R. E. Peterson & Co., 12. 

purchases Public Ledger, 14, 234, 324. 

letters to, from H. W. Longfellow, 24, 25. 

purchases country-seat near Bryn Mawr, 24. 

names it " Wootton," 38. 

guests of, list of, 31, 32. 



Index. 393 

Childs, George W., letters to, 33, 34, 46-50, 143, 144, 284, 285. 
his trip abroad, 33-41. 
visits Charles Dickens, 34. 

Duke of Buckingham, 37, 38. 
Fountain Abbey, 39, 40. 

Mr. John Walter, proprietor London Times, 40. 
gives dinner to Longfellow at Rome, 41. 
letter from General Grant, 95. 

" Personal Memoirs" presented to, by Colonel Grant, 97. 
description of Philadelphia residence, 124—128, 131. 
appointed President of Board of Visitors at West Point, 

139, 141, 163, 171. 
presents portraits of Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheri- 
dan to Military Academy, 140, 142, 143, 146, 164. 
letter to, from President Harrison, 143, 144. 
is present at presentation ceremonies, 146, 148, 149, 165. 
letter to, from General Sherman, 153, 154 (note), 
water from Shakespeare Fountain sent to, 252, 260. 
letter from, to Archdeacon Farrar, 293. 
sketch of his life by Eugene H. Munday, 347-351. 
relations of, to his employees, 319-338. 
is made honorary member of the Philadelphia Typograph- 
ical Society, 325. 
presents burial lot to Typographical Society, 325. 
philanthropy of, 325-329. 
pension system of, 326, 327. 
his profit-sharing, 327, 328. 
extra wages paid by him to type-setters, 328. 
gift of, to International Typographical Union, 329. 
policy of, towards labor organizations, 331. 
proposal to make him Presidential candidate in 1888, 333, 

334, 374, 376. 
celebration in honor of his birthday, 335. 
tribute to, from the press, on his birthday, 337, 338. 
" Chronicles of the Canongate," by Sir Walter Scott, manu- 
script of, 59. 
Churchman, The, New York, extract from, 306. 
Claghorn, James L., invites Dom Pedro to visit Academy of 
Fine Arts, 42. 



394 Index. 

Clock, Rittenhouse, "history of, 67, 68. 

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, poet, autograph letter of, 62, 

125. 
" Collection of Four Thousand Autographs, A, made by a 

Scrivener," by W. G. Latham, 64. 
Collins, "William Wilkie, novelist, 36. 
" Comic Annual/' by Thomas Hood, 52. 

" Complete Concordance to Shakespeare," by Mary Cowden 

Clarke, original manuscript of, and letters concerning, 57. 

Congressman Farquhar, of New York, speech at the printers' 

banquet, 345-347. 

Cummings, of New York, speech at the printers' banquet, 

353-358. 
O'Donnell, of Michigan, speech at the printers' banquet, 

367. 
Nichols, of North Carolina, speech at the printers' ban- 
quet, 368-370. 
Vance, of Connecticut, speech at the printers' banquet, 370. 
Hudd, of Wisconsin, speech at the printers' banquet, 351. 
Gallinger, of New Hampshire, letter to the printers' 
banquet, 381, 382. 
Conkling, Roscoe, Senator, favors Electoral Commission, and 
his influence to hasten its appointment by the Senate, 
80. 
assists in Garfield campaign, 82, 83. 
" Consular Experiences," Hawthorne's, original manuscript, 23. 
Cook, Joel, account of the Herbert-Cowper Window in West- 
minster Abbey, 286; speech at printers' banquet, 335. 
Cooper, Peter, philanthropist, incident of his early life, 30, 31. 
Cossins, J. A., architect of Shakespeare Fountain, 202. 
" Cow-Chase, The," by Major John Andre, manuscript of, 60. 
Cowper, William, poet, 275, 281, 282, 284, 316. 
Craftsman, The, Washington, editorial on Mr. Childs's birth- 
day, 385-387. 

Darragh, Mrs., artist, paints portraits of Generals Grant, Sher- 
man, and Sheridan, 147, 163, 164, 168, 175, 177, 179. 

Davis L. Clarke, account of Mr. Childs's gifts to England : 
Shakespeare Fountain at Stratford-upon-Avon, Memorial 



Index. 395 

Windows in Westminster Abbey, St. Margaret's, Westminster, 
etc., 187, 316. 
Dedication of Shakespeare Fountain, account of, 212-226, 242, 

248, 249, 250, 252, 254, 255-257, 259-262, 265. 
De La Warr, Earl, Lord High Steward, 214. 

proposes toast to President of the United States, 227. 
" Demetrius/' by Schiller, manuscript of, 62. 
Description of Shakespeare Fountain, 202-205. 
Dickens, Charles, novelist, invites Mr. Childs to visit him, 33. 

his manner of constructing his stories, 34-36. 
"Dictionary of British and American Authors," by Dr. S. A. 

Allibone, 13, 14. 
Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth, 277. 
Drexel, A. J., banker, 14. 

is consulted by President Grant, 84, 85, 106. 
gift of, to International Typographical Union, 329, 346, 
347-350. 

Electoral Commission proposed, 77-80. 

bill passed appointing it, 81. 
Ely, Prof. Richard T., Mr. Childs and the Workingman, his 

Connection with his Employees, 319, 340. 
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, essayist, visits Mr. Childs, 27. 

quotation from, 238. 
Everett, Edward, orator and statesman, letter from, 29. 

Farrar, Rev. F. W., Archdeacon of Westminster, 287, 305. 

quotations from, 279-281, 291, 304, 305. 

letters from, 291-297, 299, 305. 
Fields, James T., publisher, 21. 

letter to, from Ex-President Franklin Pierce, 22, 23, 66. 
Fish, Hamilton, Hon., 31, 127, 131. 

made member of Grant's Cabinet, 97. 
Flower, Charles E., Councillor, 202, 213, 214, 267. 

proposes toast to Mr. Henry Irving, 237. 
Franklin, Lady, visits Mr. Childs, 40. 

Garfield, General James A., President of United States, 82. 
" Godolphin," by Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, manuscript of, 60. 



396 Index. 

Gott, Rev. Dr., Dean of Worcester, sermon of, 314, 315. 
Grand Army of the Republic, growth of, 137. 
Grant, Frederick D., Colonel, letter of, to New York World, 
115-118. 
appointment as Minister to Austria, 121. 
accompanies General Grant on his tour around the world, 
122. 
Grant, General Ulysses S., President of United States, letter 
of, 66. 
recollections of, 70-139. 
personal characteristics of, 70-75. 
artistic tastes and paintings of, 71, 72. 
counsels appointment of Electoral Commission, 78. 
assists in Garfield's campaign, 83. 
opposed to a third term, 83. 
vetoes Inflation Bill, 85, 156. 
some experiences in speech-making, 88. 
his last speech, 89. 
'incidents showing his remarkable power of recognition 

of persons, 91, 92. 
plants oak-tree at Wootton, 93. 
his fondness for horses, 94. 

extract from letter of, in regard to England, 96. 
his " Personal Memoirs," 96, 97. 
his friendship for Hon. Hamilton Fish, 97. 
elected President, 1868, 98. 
avenues and streets of Washington improved during his 

administration, 99, 100. 
establishes Indian Commission, 100. 
generosity of, 101. 
domestic happiness of, 101. 
unjustly treated by General Halleck, 102. 
his manner of life at Long Branch, 103. 
his regard for General Sherman, 73. 
his regard for General Sheridan, 105. 
passage of his retiring bill, 106, 107. 
justifies General Fitz-John Porter, 108, 109. 
purity of his character, 109, 111. 
his insensibility to music, 110. 



Index. 397 

Grant, General Ulysses S., first symptoms of cancer, 111. 
Dr. Da Costa examines him and prescribes, 112. 
goes to Mount McGregor, 112. 
extracts from letter to Mr. Childs, 113. 
his wishes regarding place of burial, 114-118. 
his tour around the world, 118-123. 

is treated by all countries with great honors, 119-121, 156. 
farewell receptions in Philadelphia, 119, 123, 132. 
gifts presented during tour, 122. 

receptions in Philadelphia upon his return, 123, 132, 133. 
made a member of the Grand Army of the Republic in 

Mr. Childs's private office, 132. 
speech of, before the members of the Grand Army of the 

Republic, 133-136. 
portrait of, presented to Military Academy, West Point, 

140, 142, 143, 146,154. 
eulogy of, by General Horace Porter, 155-158. 
Guests of Mr. Childs, names of, 31-32. 

" Habitations of our Kings/' by Thomas Gray, manuscript of, 

60. 
Hall, Hon. A. Oakey, journalist, 257. 
Hall, S. C, letter from, 58, 59 (note). 
Halleck, Henry Wager, General, 102. 
Hampshire Gazette, extract from, 312-315. 
Harper & Brothers' letter on Mr. Childs's birthday, 377. 
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, first number of, 18. 

extracts from, 279-281, 290, 291. 
Harper's Weekly, extracts from, 123-131, 140-142, 264-268," 

337, 388. 
Harrison, Benjamin, President of United States, his letter to 

Mr. Childs, 143, 144. 
Hawkins, J. P., Lieutenant-Colonel, commandant of Military 

Academy, 146. 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, poet, 21. 
death of, 22. 

extract from letter of, 23. 
Henry, Professor Joseph, invites Dom Pedro to visit Smith- 
sonian Institution, 44. 

34 



398 Index. 

Henry, Professor Joseph, opinion of Mr. Childs, 351. 
Herbert, George, poet, 275, 281, 284, 316. 
quotations from Walton's life of, 281. 
Herbert and Cowper Memorial in Westminster Abbey, 271- 

286. 
" Hertha," by Fredrika Bremer, manuscript of Mary Howitt's 

translation of, 60. 
"Historical Memorials," of Westminster Abbey, quotations 

from, 271-273. 
Hodgson, Sir Arthur, Mayor of Stratford, 202, 214, 226, 229, 
242, 243, 248, 258, 260, 265, 267. 
letters from, 197, 198. 
address of, 218,219. 
proposes toasts to Queen and the rest of the Royal family, 

226,227. 
receives message of thanks from Mr. Childs, 240. 
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, poet, memories of, 26, 27. 
letter from, 206, 254. 

poem of, on Shakespeare Fountain, 220-222, 254, 259. 
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, 207. 

memorial window proposed for, 193, 194. 
proposed restoration of, 195. 
Houghton, Lord, Richard Monckton Milnes, visits Mr. Childs, 

130. 
Howard, O. O., General, letter from, 144. 

Illustrated London News, extract from, 203-205. 
Indian Commission, organization of, 100, 101. 
Inscriptions upon Shakespeare Fountain, 266. 
Irving, Henry, actor, 213, 214, 219, 228-231, 242, 245-250, 
252, 254, 263. 
address of, 222-225, 248, 259. 
reads Dr. Holmes's poem, 220. 

drinks to Shakespeare in first water that flows from Foun- 
tain, 225. 
response to Mr. Flower's toast, 237-239, 260. 
Irving, Washington, author, 19, 211, 216, 244, 264, 266. 
" Italian Bride, The," by John Howard Payne, manuscript of ; 
60. 



Index. 399 

James, G. P. R., novelist, visits Mr. Childs, 27. 
Johnson, Andrew, President of United States, letters of, 66. 
Johnston, Joseph E., General, dines with General Grant at Mr. 
Childs's house, 74. 
aids in passage of Grant's retiring bill, 106. 
Jonson, Ben, 208, 273. 

Kane, Dr. Elisha K., "Arctic Explorations" of, 12, 13. 
Ken, Thomas, Bishop, 310, 312-314. 

Laffan, Mrs. R. S. de C, poem by, 240, 241. 

Ledger building formally opened, 1867, 17. 

Library Treasures of Mr. Childs, 51-69. 

" Life of Captain Richard Somers," by James Fenimore Cooper, 

manuscript of, 60. 
Lincoln, Abraham, President of United States, letter of, 6Q. 
Lippincott, J. B., publisher, 13. 
Liverpool Post, extract from, 255. 

Logan, John A., General, delivers eulogy over grave of Gen- 
eral Grant, 137. 
London Daily Telegraph, extracts from, 242-248. 
London Globe, extract from, 248, 249. 
London Pall Mall Gazette, extract from, 250-252. 
London Times, extracts from, 199, 241, 242. 
Longfellow, Henry "W., poet, letters from, 24, 25. 

dines with Mr. Childs in Rome, 28, 41. 
Lowell, James Russell, poet, visits Mr. Childs, 25-126. 

manuscript of his poem " Under the "Willows" in Mr. 
Childs's possession, 25. 

letter from, on Shakespeare Fountain, 215-217, 228, 229, 
245, 246, 254, 258. 

lines of, under Raleigh "Window in St. Margaret's, 293. 

Macaulay, James, M.D., editor, 195, 197, 199, 202, 218, 219, 251. 

suggests erection of drinking-fountain to Mr. Childs, 196. 

replies to toast to Mr. Childs, 236, 237, 260. 
Mackellar, Thomas, letter to the printers' banquet, 379. 
Martin, Sir Theodore, proposes toast to Shakespeare, 243. 
Mather, Cotton, sermon of, 51, 125. 



400 Index. 

McClure, Colonel A. K., conversation with General Grant, 81. 

letter to the printers' banquet, 378. 
Milton, John, poet, 290-292, 294, 295, 297, 298, 302, 305, 316. 
Milton Window in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, 287- 

308. 
Moore, Thomas, poet, his Bible and Irish harp, 59. 
Motley, John Lothrop, historian, 27. 
Munday, Eugene H., printer-poet, sketch of Mr. Childs at 

printers' banquet, 347-351. 
"Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar A. Poe, manuscript 
of, 25. 
history of, 52-54. 

" Need of Two Loves, The/' by N. P. Willis, manuscript of, 59. 

Neilson, General, speech at printers' banquet, 352. 

Nelson, Horatio, Lord, letter of, 62. 

Nevin, W. W., account of Herbert-Cowper Window in West- 
minster Abbey, 285. 

New York Herald, extracts from, 199, 202, 203, 25S-261. 

New York Sun, extract from, 179-183. 

New York Times, extract from, 262. 

New York Tribune, extract from, 145-147. 

New York World, extracts from, 114-118, 142,143, 148-165, 
203-205, 256, 257. 

Noah, Major J. J., remarks at the printers' banquet, 371. 

Osborn, Thomas A., American Minister to Brazil, extract from 

letter of, 45. 
"Our Mutual Friend," by Charles Dickens, manuscript of, 25, 

34. 
Owen, Sir Philip Cunliffe, remarks of, 225, 260. 

Patterson, Robert, General, sent for by President Grant, 80. 

Paxson, Chief-Justice, letter from, 379. 

Peabody, George, philanthropist, presents his portrait to Mr. 

Childs, 30. 
Pedro, Dom, de Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil, incidents during 
his visit to the United States, 42-44. 
his letter to Mr. Childs, 50. 



Index. 401 

Pedro, Dom, de Alcantara, Emperor of Brazil, sends cup and 
saucer to Mr. Child?, 46. 
presents photograph and book of travels to Mr. Childs, 45. 
is present at Centennial Exhibition, 42, 126. 
Pew in St. Margaret's Church, London, appropriated to Ameri- 
cans, 290. 
Phelps, Hon. Edward J., American Minister to England, 214, 
215, 219, 223, 239, 243, 247, 248, 260, 295, 303. 
address of, 227-231, 249, 257, 258. 
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, editorial on Mr. Childs's birth- 
day, 387-389. 
Pierce, Franklin, President of United States, letter of, 22, 23, 66. 
"Pilgrims of the Rhine," by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, man- 
uscript of, 60. 
Poe, Edgar A., poet, extract from letter of, 55. 
Poetical Works of Leigh Hunt, with autograph inscription to 

Charles Dickens, 51. 
Porter, Fitz-John, General, Grant's justification of, 107, 108. 
Porter, Horace, General, presentation speech of, portraits of 
Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, 147, 149, 154-165. 
Prescott, "William H., historian, his last photograph taken for 

Mr. Childs, 27. 
Prime, Rev. Dr., commends Mr. Childs for improvement in the 

character of Public Ledger, 16, 17. 
Printers' banquet on Mr. Childs's birthday, 341, 389. 
Proctor, Redfield, Secretary of War, present at presentation 
ceremonies, 146. 
remarks of, 149, 151. 
Public Ledger, purchased by Mr. Childs, 14, 15, 234. 

price of, doubled, and advertising rates increased, 15. 
character of, changed, 16. 
criticism of, 251. 
extract from, 276. 

Randall, Hon. Samuel J., Speaker of House of Representatives, 

78, 79, 80, 106. 
Read, T. Buchanan, artist, paints portrait of Longfellow for 
Mr. Childs, 28. 
dines with Mr. Childs in Rome, 28, 41. 
aa 34* 



402 Index. 

Recollections by Mr. Childs, 9-183. 

Relations to his Employees, George W. Childs in his, 319-340. 

Reredos of St. Thomas's Church, Winchester, 309-316. 

Resolution of Council of Stratford accepting Fountain, 198. 

Resolution of thanks to Mr. Childs, from Vestry of St. Thomas's 
Church, Winchester, England, 311. 

" Retrospect of Western Travel," by Harriet Martineau, man- 
uscript of, 60. 

Rochambeau, Marquis de, entertained by Mr. Childs, 130. 

Rogers, Professor Thorold, his opinion of labor organizations, 
332, 333. 

Roman well in London, 30. 

Saint Margaret's Church, Westminster, origin of, 289. 

Milton Window in, 197, 265, 287, 294, 295, 299, 304, 305. 
description of, 295, 296, 300, 301. 
unveiling of, 295, 296. 
Saint Thomas's Church, Winchester, reredos in, 310-314. 
description of, 313, 314. 
unveiling of, 312, 314. 
Sala, George Augustus, journalist, 126, 202. 
Saldanha da Gama, de, Luiz Philippe, Captain, letter from, to 

Mr. Childs, 48, 49. 
"Scarlet Letter," Hawthorne's, some facts concerning, 23. 
Scott, Winfield, General, sends copy of his book to Mr. Childs, 

29. 
Shakespeare, John, father of Shakespeare, 209. 
Shakespeare, William, poet, 187, 191, 195, 196, 207-209, 211, 
224, 225, 238, 239, 243-246, 250, 253, 259, 262, 264, 273, 
316. 
pall- bearer of, 211. 
Sheridan, Philip Henry, General, portrait of, presented to Mil- 
itary Academy, 140, 142, 143, 146, 154, 164. 
eulogy of, by General Horace Porter, 159-161. 
sabre of, history of, 178. 
Sherman, William T., General, memoirs of, 72, 73. 

portrait of, presented to Military Academy, 140, 142, 143, 

146, 154, 164. 
present at presentation ceremonies, 146, 148, 149, 151. 



Index. 403 

Sherman, William T., General, remarks of, 151-153. 

eulogy of, by General Horace Porter, 158, 159. 
Site of Shakespeare Fountain chosen, 202. 
Sole, Rev. Arthur B., letters from, 309-312. 
Stanley, Rev. Arthur P., Dean of Westminster, 271-276, 282. 

is a guest of Mr. Childs, 130, 191, 210, 218, 275. 

letters from, 193, 194. 

extract from sermon of, 275. 

note by, 2S3, 284. 
" State Services" in St. Margaret's Church, 289, 290. 
Stowe and Wootton, residences of Duke of Buckingham, some 

interesting features of, 37, 38. 
Stratford-upon-Avon Fountain, 191-269. 
Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, extract from, 212-241. 
Sunday at Home, London, extract from, 2S3, 284. 

Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, poet, manuscript draught of his dedi- 
catory poem to the Queen, 62. 
lines of, under Caxton Window in St. Margaret's, 293. 
Thackeray, William Makepeace, manuscript of his "Lectures 

on the Four Georges," 59. 
Ticknor, W. D., publisher, visits Philadelphia, 19, 

death of, 20, 21. 
Tilden and Hayes campaign, 76-81. 

Union Printer, The, New York, editorial on Mr. Childs's birth- 
day, 387. 

Victoria, Queen, Jubilee Year of, 197-199, 202-204, 207, 209, 
212, 215, 218, 230, 237, 248, 250, 255, 265. 

message from, 232, 249, 257. 

toast to, 226, 232. 
"Vignettes of Travel," quotation from, 285, 286. 

Walter, John, proprietor of London Times, entertains Mr. 

Childs at " Bearwood," 40. 
writes to Mr. Childs, 95. 

present at dedication of Shakespeare Fountain, 248. 
proposes toast to Mr. Childs and gives short sketch of his 

life, 232-236, 251, 254, 260. 



404 Index. 

Walton, Izaak, author, 281. 
Warwick Advertiser, extract from, 249. 

Washington, George, President of United States, letter of, 65. 
Weed, Thurlow, journalist, 29, 30. 

Westminster Abbey, Herbert and Cowper Window in, 192, 196, 
202, 210, 218, 255, 264, 274-277, 280, 282, 283, 299, 304, 
307. 
description of, 284-286. 
West Point Military Academy, 139-183. 
monuments in cemetery at, 140, 141. 

portraits of Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan pre- 
sented to Military Academy, and ceremonies attending, 
140, 145-165. 
description of portraits, 147, 163, 164, 169, 175. 
West Point Report, 179, 183. 

Wheeler, General, introduces West Point Bill, ISO, 181. 
Whitman, Walt, poet, visits Mr. Childs, 130. 
Whittier, John G., poet, letters from, 217, 218, 254, 258, 302. 
lines of, under Milton Window in St. Margaret's. 296, 298, 
301, 305. 
Wilson, Henry, Vice-President of United States, visits Mr. 
Childs, 75, 76, 127. 
death of, 76. 
Wilson, John M., Colonel, superintendent of Military Acad- 
emy, 146, 148, 164. 
accepts portraits for Academy, 150. 
Winter, William, journalist, description of Shakespeare Foun- 
tain, 263. 
Winthrop, Hon. Robert C, extract from letter of, 110. 
is a guest of Mr. Childs, 131. 

inscription in church at Elberon, New Jersey, on General 
Grant, 90. 
Woodcock, Catherine, wife of Milton, 290-292, 297, 298, 304. 
Wordsworth, William, poet, 56. 

Young, John Russell, journalist, accompanies General Grant 
on his tour around the world, 119. 
appointment as Minister to China, 123. 
letter from, 3 SO. 










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